Dyslipidemia in subclinical hypothyroidism in an Indian population

In view of inconsistent reports on the prevalence of dyslipidemia in subclinical hypothyroidism (SCH), we studied lipid abnormalities in Indian subjects with SCH. A cross sectional study of 5343 subjects divided in two groups, Group-1 (age ≤ 18 years) and Group-2 (age > 18 years) was undertaken. They were further subdivided on the basis of their thyroid functional status: Normal (Control); SCH with TSH ≤ 10.0 mIU/L (SCH-1); and SCH with TSH > 10 mIU/L (SCH-2). Prevalence of SCH was 14.7%. The only lipid abnormality in children and adolescents was low HDL in subjects with TSH > 10 mIU/L compared with controls. Serum total cholesterol (TC), and LDL cholesterol (LDL) were significantly higher in adults with TSH > 10 mIU/L compared to controls. There were no significant changes in lipid parameters in subjects with SCH having TSH ≤ 10.0 mIU/L, compared to controls. Serum TSH was positively and FT3 and FT4 were negatively correlated with TC and LDL. Atherogenic lipid abnormalities were observed in adult subjects with SCH-2 (TSH > 10.0 mIU/L), and not in subjects with SCH-1 who had TSH ≤ 10.0 mIU/L in Indian population.