The prevalence of hypothyroidism in people living with type 2 diabetes mellitus attending the diabetic clinic at Helen Joseph Hospital

Abstract

Objective: To determine the prevalence of hypothyroidism in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM).

Design: A retrospective clinical audit from 1 January, 2020–30 April, 2020. The SEMDSA/ACE-SA guideline for normal TSH values was used to describe high TSH values and overall control. Descriptive statistics for normally distributed variables were reported in terms of means and standard deviations, and for skewed variables in terms of medians and interquartile ranges.

Setting: The diabetic clinic at Helen Joseph Hospital.

Subjects: Two hundred and ninety adults aged 45 years or older with T2DM.

Results: Of the 290 participants (median age 60 years, 66.6% female), 6.9% had known hypothyroidism, with only 20% achieving TSH targets. No patients were newly diagnosed with overt hypothyroidism; however, 17% had an elevated TSH. Metabolic control was generally poor among the hypothyroid group: none met HbA1c targets, 55% reached blood pressure or total cholesterol goals, and 5% met all lipogram criteria.

Conclusion: The prevalence of hypothyroidism was lower than in similar international studies. The low treatment rates and suboptimal levels of control of hypothyroidism highlight the need for clinicians to be more vigilant in screening and correctly managing this population.