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Park, Rue, Kim, Kim, Lim, Park, Kim, Cha, Cho, Choi, and Lee: Comparison of Common Carotid Artery Intima-Media Thickness between Subclinical Hypothyroidism and Euthyroidism
Original Article
Journal of Korean Endocrine Society

Journal of Korean Endocrine Society 2006; 21(6): 490-496.

Published online: 20 December 2006

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3803/jkes.2006.21.6.490

Comparison of Common Carotid Artery Intima-Media Thickness between Subclinical Hypothyroidism and Euthyroidism

Kyung-Sun Park, Jung-Im Rue, Soo-Kyung Kim, In-Jae Kim, Sang-Wook Lim, Seok-Won Park, Yu-Lee Kim, Dong-Hoon Cha, Yong-Wook Cho, Young-Kil Choi, Sang-Jong Lee

Department of Internal Medicine, College of Medicine, Pochon CHA University, Korea.

Received 4 September 2006       Accepted 25 October 2006

Copyright © 2006 Korean Endocrine Society

Abstract

Background

Common carotid artery intima-media thickness (IMT), which is increased in patients with overt hypothyroidism, is an independent risk factor of the atherosclerosis-related disease. This study was performed to compare serum lipid level and common carotid artery IMT among patients with overt hypothyroidism, subclinical hypothyroidism and euthyroidism.

Methods

Patients with newly-diagnosed subclinical (n=32) and overt (n=32) hypothyroidism were selected for this study. All of the patients and an age- and sex-matched euthyroidism cohort were checked for clinical characteristics and serum lipid levels. Common carotid artery IMT was also measured using high resolution B-mode ultrasonography.

Results

Statistically significant differences were observed between the total cholesterol levels of patients with subclinical hypothyroidism and those with euthyroidism. When common carotid artery IMT measured by ultrasonography, subclinical (0.67 ± 0.11 mm) and overt (0.71 ± 0.12 mm)) hypothyroidism showed significantly increased mean IMT compared to that of euthyroidism (0.58 ± 0.07 mm, P < 0.05, respectively), but no differences were found between subclinical and overt hypothyroidism.

Conclusion

We concluded that subclinical hypothyroidism is related to increased common carotid artery IMT as well as dyslipidemia. Therefore, we recommend that treatment principle of subclinical hypothyroidism be established through large-scale, prospective studies performed to determine the effect of thyroid hormone replacement on the reduction of common carotid artery IMT.

Keywords: Atherosclerosis, Intima-media thickness, Subclinical hypothyroidism

Figures and Tables

Fig. 1
Common carotid artery intima-media thickness of the study population.
*P < 0.05 (one-way ANOVA followed by Scheffe's post hoc test). IMTmean, mean intima-media thickness; IMTmax, maximal intima-media thickness.
jkes-21-490-g001
Table 1
Baseline characteristics of the study population
jkes-21-490-i001

Values are expressed as mean ± SD.

Anti-TPO Ab, anti-thyroperoxidase antibody; BMI, body mass index; SBP, systolic blood pressure; DBP, diastolic blood pressure; LDL-C, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol; HDL-C, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol; TSH, thyroid stimulating hormone.

*P < 0.05 vs. euthyroidism (one-way ANOVA followed by Scheffe's post hoc test).

†P < 0.05 vs. subclinical hypothyroidism (one-way ANOVA followed by Scheffe's post hoc test).

Table 2
Multiple regression analysis on factors affecting mean intima-media thickness of common carotid artery
jkes-21-490-i002

Anti-TPO Ab, anti-thyroperoxidase antibody; SBP, systolic blood pressure; DBP, diastolic blood pressure; HDL-C, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol; TSH, thyroid stimulating hormone.

R2 = 0.628 in multivariate analysis.

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