Study of thyroid profile in secondary amenorrhea

Background: The prevalence of secondary amenorrhea in general female population during reproductive years is 1.8 to 3%, the prevalence in college age women is 2.6 to 5% and amenorrhea may be seen as often as 20% of patients complaining of infertility and 10-20% of women with subfertility. (Morey et al., 1994 and Crosignani et al., 1996) Diseases of thyroid affects normal ovarian functions. Hypothyroidism causes failure of ovulation in women of reproductive age group. Hypothyroidism causes anovulatory cycles, luteal phase defects, hyperprolactinemia and hormonal imbalance. Aims and objectives: To determine role of thyroid dysfunctions in secondary amenorrhea. Material and Methods: This study was undertaken in Department of Biochemistry, Govt. medical college and hospital, Nagpur. Two groups of females comprising of 50 secondary amenorrhea cases as study group and 50 with regular menstrual cycle as controls were thoroughly examined and subjected to investigations for thyroid factor. Results : The mean TSH (Thyroid stimulating hormone) levels in the secondary amenorrhea group were found to be high as compared to those of control group and they were statistically significant with p value<0.0001. The incidence of hypothyroidism in secondary amenorrhea was found to be 14%. Conclusion: There is increased incidence of hypothyroidism in secondary amenorrhea. The relatively high occurrence of raised TSH levels in these women emphasizes the importance of TSH screening in these women.