Title: Prevalence of subclinical hypothyroidism in diagnosed cases of gall stone disease: Prospective study from a tertiary care institute in Himalayan region
Authors: Dr Mahender Singh Rana, Dr Mohit Bajaj, Dr Aman Thakur, Dr Ashok Kaundal, Dr Anil Malhotra, Dr Ashish Sharma, Dr Abhinav Chaudhary
DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.18535/jmscr/v8i4.08
Abstract
Gall stones are the most common biliary pathology, recent studies show that 10–15% of adult population in USA has gall stones (20 millions), 3% of them underwent cholecystectomy, 85% of them asymptomatic, 1–4% of them develop symptoms each year, females more affected than males 3:11,2. For decades there has been a discussion, whether thyroid disorders could cause gallstone disease. Interestingly it has been reported that the risk, in particular, for gall stones, increases in clinical and subclinical hypothyroidism. There are multiple factors that may contribute to the formation and/or accumulation of gall stones in hypothyroid patients, including decreased liver cholesterol metabolism, diminished bile secretion, and reduced Sphincter of Oddi relaxation.
Objective: To assess the prevalence of hypothyroidism in patients with gall stones and try to establish hypothyroidism as a possible etiological factor for gallstones formation.
Methods: A cross sectional study was carried out at IGMC & Hospital involving 149 patients with cholelithiasis admitted to the hospital during the period from April 2016 to October 2017. All patients were assessed by detailed clinical history and examination with appropriate investigations in form of abdominal USG, thyroid function tests and lipid profile.
Results: Out of 149 patients of gallstone, 120 patients were euthyroid and 29 patients were having subclinical hypothyroidism. Maximum number of patients belonged to the age group of 41-50 years (31.54%).Majority were female, i.e. 107 (72%). Out of the 29 patients diagnosed with subclinical hypothyroidism, 21(72%) were female .77(51.67%) patients presented with complaints of fatty dyspepsia followed by 57(38.25)% with biliary colic and 15(10.66%) with pain right hypochondrium.
Keywords: Hypothyroidism, Gall stones, Subclinical Thyroid dysfunction.
