Comparison of lipid profile in type-ii diabetes mellitus patients with and without thyroid dysfunctions

Introduction: Thyroid dysfunctions, both hyperthyroidism and hypothyroidism, have been associated with insulin resistance which has been reported to be the major cause of impaired glucose metabolism in type-II Diabetes mellitus (T2 DM). Dyslipidemia is a common metabolic derangement seen in both diabetic patients and patients with thyroid dysfunction. In patients with both these disorders, dyslipidemia is more likely to be present. Dyslipidemia is an important risk factor for cardiovascular events. Therefore, effective management in such patients may help to significantly reduce the incidence of cardiovascular events. Methods: This study is a cross-sectional study done over a period of 18 months. The study included 60 patients with known T2 DM in Victoria hospital affiliated to Bangalore medical college & research institute. These diabetic patients were divided into 2 groups, one with euthyroid status (n=30) and the other with thyroid dysfunction (n=30) and a comparison of fasting lipid profile between these two groups were done. Results: The mean age of the diabetic patients in the group with thyroid dysfunction was 57.56 ± 8.55 years and mean age of diabetic patients in the group without thyroid dysfunction was 54.6 ± 9.08 years. The male: female distribution among the former group was 43.3% and 56.7%, and that among the latter group was 46.66% and 53.44% respectively. The two groups were age & sex matched. The fasting lipid profile was significantly abnormal in diabetic patients with thyroid dysfunction (p=0.001), when compared with those without thyroid dysfunction and HDL was found to be significantly low in the group with thyroid dysfunction (p=0.01). Conclusion: Dyslipidemia is predominantly seen among diabetic patients with thyroid dysfunction. There is an increase in LDL/VLDL/TGs, along with reduction in HDL cholesterol among diabetic patients with thyroid dysfunction.