THE PREVALENCE OF THYROID DYSFUNCTION IN RHEUMATOID ARTHRITIS AND ITS CORRELATION WITH DISEASE ACTIVITY

Sami Salman; Ahmed Hussein

Volume : VII, Issue : VIII, August - 2018

THE PREVALENCE OF THYROID DYSFUNCTION IN RHEUMATOID ARTHRITIS AND ITS CORRELATION WITH DISEASE ACTIVITY

Sami Salman, Ahmed Hussein

Abstract :

The relationship between thyroid dysfunction and rheumatoid arthritis (RA) has been a subject of considerable discussion. So the Aim of study was to determine the prevalence of thyroid dysfunction in patients with RA and if there is correlation with disease activity or not. A total of 100 RA patients and 65 control participants were enrolled in this cross sectional prospective study. RA patients were subjected to full clinical evaluation including medical and rheumatological history and examination. Disease activity was measured by using Clinical Disease Activity Index (CDAI). Patients and controls underwent thyroid function test and erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR). Rheumatoid factor (RF) and Anti–citrullinated protein antibody (ACPA) were recorded for the patients. The mean age of the studied groups was 46.62 � 12.6 years and 46.69 � 13.3 years in RA and control groups, respectively. Statistically, there is no significant difference between both groups in age, gender distribution, and body mass index (BMI). Clinical hypothyroidism was reported in 21 (21.0%) of patients group while it was in 1 (1.5%) of controls group, clinical hyperthyroidism was in 1 (1.0%) of patients group whereas no one in controls group, and subclinical hypothyroidism was reported in 7 (7.0%) of patients group while it was only in 3 (4.6%) of controls group. There is no statistically significant association between thyroid dysfunction and disease activity measured by (CDAI). Thyroid dysfunction was more frequent in RA patients in comparison to healthy populations and hypothyroidism was the more frequent type. There is no correlation between thyroid dysfunction and RA disease activity.