{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2025,4,26]],"date-time":"2025-04-26T04:07:10Z","timestamp":1745640430183,"version":"3.40.4"},"reference-count":0,"publisher":"Jaypee Brothers Medical Publishing","issue":"4","content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["JAPI"],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2025,4,1]]},"abstract":"<jats:p>Introduction: Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic autoimmune inflammatory arthritis involving\n0.5\u20131% of the global population. Coexistence of RA and thyroid dysfunction is now increasingly\nbeing recognized. This is due to the shared factors involved in the pathogenesis of RA and\nautoimmune thyroid disease. Thyroid disorder is an important amplifier of disease activity, thereby\nimpairing the quality of life.\nObjectives: To study the prevalence and pattern of thyroid dysfunction in RA patients, to compare\nthe disease activity among RA patients with thyroid dysfunction and those without thyroid\ndysfunction, and to study the possible association between severe RA and thyroid dysfunction.\nMethodology: A hospital-based analytical cross-sectional study was done in 165 RA patients\nattending the General Medicine and Rheumatology outpatient facilities of the Department of\nGeneral Medicine, Government Medical College, Kozhikode, from January to December 2019.\nStudy subjects were selected based on the inclusion and exclusion criteria. Relevant investigations\nwere done, which included serum thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH), free thyroxine (free T4),\nfree triiodothyronine (free T3), and anti-thyroid peroxidase antibody (anti-TPO) antibody levels.\nData were analyzed using MS Excel and Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) software.\nThe prevalence and pattern of thyroid disorders in RA patients were assessed. The association of\nthyroid dysfunction with disease activity was tested.\nResults: The prevalence of thyroid dysfunction among RA patients was 38.2%. The most common\nthyroid disorder observed was subclinical hypothyroidism, which was seen in 33.3% (55) of the\nstudy population, followed by overt hypothyroidism in 3.6% (6) of patients. Both subclinical\nhyperthyroidism and clinical hyperthyroidism were found in only 0.6% of RA patients. There was\na significant difference in mean age between RA patients with thyroid dysfunction and euthyroid\npatients (p-value = 0.001). No significant association was found between the duration of RA\nand thyroid dysfunction (p-value = 0.253). RA patients with thyroid dysfunction had elevated\ninflammatory markers compared to those with normal thyroid function. The prevalence of\nautoimmune thyroid disorder in RA patients is 24.8%. There was a significant association between\ndisease activity and thyroid dysfunction (p-value = 0.001). Patients with thyroid disorders had\nsevere disease compared to euthyroid patients. A significant positive correlation was noted\nbetween serum TSH and Disease Activity Score-28 (DAS-28) (Pearson coefficient = 0.768, p-value =\n0.000), and between anti-TPO antibody and DAS-28 (Pearson coefficient = 0.794, p-value = 0.000).\nConclusion: Thyroid dysfunction is prevalent in 38.2% of RA patients, with subclinical\nhypothyroidism being the most common thyroid disorder encountered. RA patients with thyroid\ndysfunction had higher disease activity than euthyroid patients. Hence, thyroid function tests\nshould be a routine investigation in all RA patients, and if found abnormal, they should be treated\nappropriately.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.59556\/japi.73.0907","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,4,25]],"date-time":"2025-04-25T13:54:38Z","timestamp":1745589278000},"page":"18-21","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Spectrum of Thyroid Disorders in Rheumatoid Arthritis"],"prefix":"10.59556","volume":"73","author":[{"given":"Megha S","family":"Kumar","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Shiji","family":"Pallivalappil","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Adarsh S","family":"Nair","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"2914","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,4,1]]},"container-title":["Journal of the Association of Physicians of India"],"original-title":[],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2025,4,25]],"date-time":"2025-04-25T13:54:38Z","timestamp":1745589278000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/japi.org\/article\/japi-73-4-18"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2025,4,1]]},"references-count":0,"journal-issue":{"issue":"4","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,4,1]]},"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2025,4,1]]}},"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.59556\/japi.73.0907","relation":{},"ISSN":["0004-5772"],"issn-type":[{"value":"0004-5772","type":"print"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2025,4,1]]}}}