Health Problems Accompanying Hypothyroidism in Patients in Ecuador

ABSTRACT

Purpose: The thyroid gland regulates a range of physiological functions through its hormonal secretions and multiple metabolic dysfunctions can arise from its functional anomalies. In this paper, the correlation between hypothyroidism (HT) and other diseases with particular emphasis on vascular risks have been studied.

Materials and Methods: Out of 11,520 adult patients who received medical care in external consultation of a public clinic of the Ecuadorian Institute of Social Security and in the Private Unit of Prevention Neuro-endocrine-vascular of Quito (Neurosciences Institute), 645 patients diagnosed with HT were studied.

Results: As compared to the general population, there was a significantly higher frequency of the following diseases among HT patients:dyslipidemia (67.0% vs. 1.4%), arterial hypertension (36.0% vs. 9.3%), obesity (35.0% vs. 24.3%), and hyperglycemia (18.0% vs. 3.4%). HT patients also exhibited various health hazards like cardiomegaly (18%), stroke (17%), and acute myocardial infarction (9%). Primary HT exhibits an incidence index with higher occurrences in the women (75.0%).

Conclusion: This study proposes, to this Hospital and the Ecuadorian Government, the implementation of greater effort in the diagnosis and research of root causes of HT in favor of prevention, and not just the control of co-morbidities, with the aim of enhancing the quality of life and prognosis for patients.