Correlations between rheumatoid arthritis severity and thyroid dysfunction: insights from a cohort study on treatment patterns and hypothyroidism prevalence

Ramendra Kumar Raman*, Ashmita Shrestha, Dipendra Shah, Anil Shah, Dhiren Kumar Panda

Department of Anatomy, Kantipur Dental College Teaching Hospital and Research Center, Kathmandu, Nepal

Refer this article

Ramendra Kumar Raman, Ashmita Shrestha, Dipendra Shah, Anil Shah, Dhiren Kumar Panda, 2024. Correlations between rheumatoid arthritis severity and thyroid dysfunction: insights from a cohort study on treatment patterns and hypothyroidism prevalence. Journal of medical pharmaceutical and allied sciences, V 13 - I 3, Pages- 6546-6552. Doi: https://doi.org/10.55522/jmpas.V13I3.6434.

ABSTRACT

Thyroid dysfunction may exacerbate the systemic inflammatory condition known as rheumatoid arthritis (RA). In this cross-sectional study, 53 patients' thyroid function tests (Thyroid-Stimulating Hormone (TSH), Free T4, Free T3) and RA activity scores (including the Health Assessment Questionnaire (HAQ) and Disease Activity Score-28 (DAS28)) were correlated with lifestyle variables including smoking, alcohol consumption, and physical activity. Results indicate that TSH levels and RA severity are strongly positively correlated (correlation coefficients: 0.85 for HAQ and 0.89 for DAS28); on the other hand, levels of Free T4 and Free T3 were negatively correlated with RA severity. With just one case of overt hypothyroidism, the bulk of the sample (87%) received a diagnosis of hypothyroidism, most of it subclinical. These results emphasize the need of include thyroid function monitoring into RA treatment plans and imply that lifestyle variables as well as thyroid hormone levels should be taken into account in the all-encompassing care of RA patients.

Keywords:

Rheumatoid Arthritis, Thyroid Dysfunction, Hypothyroidism, Disease Activity Score, HAQ, Lifestyle Factors.

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