Tarun Kesava Naidu Bobbili1 , Veeramani Kartheek A.S.2
BACKGROUND Malnourishment is a major public health challenge in India. The prevalence of thyroid disorders is about 15 – 25 % in different parts of the country. As Thyroid hormone is essential for normal erythropoiesis, anaemia often accompanies thyroid disorders. It is also observed that iron deficiency anaemia state negatively influences the thyroid hormone function. So, the relationship between anaemia and thyroid disorders is complex and both have to be addressed. Keeping this in view, we tried to study the haematological parameters of inpatients with thyroid disorders in our hospital. METHODS A retrospective hospital based observational study was conducted in Gayatri Vidya Parishad Institute of Healthcare and Medical Technology, Visakhapatnam. All adults (> 18 yrs. of age), non-pregnant patients admitted during the period November 2017 to November 2018 with a diagnosis of thyroid disorder at discharge were included in the study. Fasting thyroid profile (using Siemens advanced fully automated analyser) and haematological parameters (using automated haematology analyser - LABLIFE NOBLE III) were obtained. Data analysis was done using Microsoft Excel 2013 and SPSS version 26. RESULTS 107 patients were included in the study. Mean age of the patients was 33.20 (± 12.45) years with majority being female (91.6 %) and of the age group 18 – 40 years (80.3 %). Hypothyroidism (73.83 %) was the most common thyroid disorder observed followed by subclinical hypothyroidism (19.63 %) & hyperthyroidism (6.54 %). About 79.6 % of female patients and all male patients had anaemia of varying degree. Majority of the patients had moderate degree of anaemia [haemoglobin of 8 - 11.9 gm / dL (females) / 8 - 12.9 gm / dL (males)]. Both microcytic hypochromic anaemia (53.8 %) and normocytic normochromic anaemia (46.2 %) were almost equally prevalent in female patients. Statistically significant positive correlation was observed between TSH (Thyroid Stimulating Hormone) and mean corpuscular volume. (Pearson’s correlation = 0.324, significant correlation at the level 0.01.). CONCLUSIONS Our study highlighted the association between anaemia and thyroid dysfunction. As anaemia is common in our country and the occurrence of hypothyroidism and other thyroid disorders is on the rise, it is essential for clinicians to understand the interrelation between both the disorders and make appropriate therapeutic decisions for simultaneous treatment of anaemia as well as thyroid dysfunction as one may be the cause of the other.
