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Endocrine Abstracts (2016) 44 P234 | DOI: 10.1530/endoabs.44.P234

1Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK; 2Erasmus Medical Center, Rotterdam, The Netherlands.


Perturbations in thyroid function are common in older individuals but their significance in the very old is not fully understood. We examined thyroid hormone status (serum TSH, FT4, FT3, rT3) at baseline in a cohort of 643 85-year-olds and followed their mortality and disability outcomes for 9 years. All cause mortality, cardiovascular mortality and disability according to categorical thyroid disease status and baseline thyroid hormone parameters were examined. Models were adjusted for age, sex, education, body mass index, smoking and disease count.

Patients with either subclinical hypothyroidism (n=79) or subclinical hyperthyroidism (n=19) did not have adverse outcomes. All cause mortality was associated with baseline serum rT3, and FT3, but after adjustments for age, sex and potential confounders only rT3 remained significantly associated (P=0.001). Baseline serum TSH (P=0.038) and rT3 (P=0.04) predicted future disability trajectories in men and women, respectively.

Our study is reassuring that individuals aged 85 yrs with either subclinical hyper- or hypo-thyroidism did not have a significantly worse survival over 9 years than their euthyroid peers. However thyroid function tests did predict disability, with higher serum TSH levels predicting better outcomes. These data strengthen the argument for routine use of age-specific thyroid function reference ranges.

Volume 44

Society for Endocrinology BES 2016

Brighton, UK
07 Nov 2016 - 09 Nov 2016

Society for Endocrinology 

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