Endocrine Abstracts

Background: The consequences of overt hypothyroidism on the central nervous system are well known. Interestingly, there is less proof in regards to the impacts of subclinical hypothyroidism (SCH) on the cognitive functions among elderly subjects. Studies from various countries including India have shown a variable association between SCH and cognitive dysfunction. This study planned to survey the event of cognitive impairment among the older Indian subjects who were introducing subclinical hypothyroidism.

Methods: The participants were 126 elderly subjects (age > 60) with SCH and a similar number of age-matched euthyroid controls. Subclinical hypothyroidism was defined as a serum TSH level of more than 4.0 mIU/l with normal FT3 and FT4. Members were met by a solitary onlooker. Cognitive capacity was evaluated by Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) and clock drawing test (CDT). MMSE has the most extreme score of 30 and scores ≤ 24 are demonstrative of cognitive impairment. For CDT a score of 3 addresses a cognitive shortfall, while a score of 1 or 2 is viewed as typical. Information was dissected by utilizing SPSS and Pworth of < 0.05 was huge.

Results: The mean age of the patients’ group was 66.3 years and BMI 27.0 kg/m² which were tantamount to controls who had a mean time of 68.1 years (P-0.17) and mean BMI 26.0 kg/m² (P-0.24). Any remaining benchmark factors including sex proportion, co-morbidities, family background of dementia, smoking, liquor use, schooling and exercise were likewise similar in both the groups. The mean TSH was 7.7 in the understanding group and 2.8 in the control bunch (P-<0.06). The mean MMSE score was 26.4 in the understanding group and 27.7 in controls (P-0.35). The patients had a mean CDT of 2.31 and control 2.41 (P-0.67). Cognitive impairment by MMSE (score ≤ 23) was seen in 28.2% of patients and 26.55% of controls (P-0.65), additionally the cognitive impairment by CDT (score of 3) was available in 31.3% of patients and 29.8% of controls (P-0.48).

Conclusion: Hypothyroidism is known to cause a decrease in cognitive capacities. Studies have tended to the relationship of cognitive impairment with subclinical hypothyroidism with variable outcomes exceptionally in old subjects. In the current review, we have observed that the commonness of cognitive impairment in old subjects with SCH is like the age-matched controls. Subsequently, the expected advantage of LT4 treatment, whenever involved with a point of working on cognitive capacities in this vulnerable group, becomes suspicious.