Frequency of Hypothyroidism in Transfusion Dependent Thalassaemia Patients at a Tertiary Care Hospital

The aim of the study was to determine the frequency of hypothyroidism in transfusion dependent thalassaemia patients. A total of 64 transfusion dependent thalassaemia (TDT) patients were included in this cross-sectional study from April, 2018 to September, 2019 according to selection criteria. Thyroid hormone status was assessed by estimation of serum FT4 and serum TSH. Body iron load was estimated by serum ferritin level. The study sample consisted of 43 male and 21 female TDT patients, with a mean age of 25.5 years. Total 28% patients were found hypothyroid, 11% were overt hypothyroid and 17% were subclinical hypothyroid. Mean serum ferritin level was 2462.6 ng/ml. Significant correlation was not found between serum TSH and Serum ferritin level (p = 0.055). Total unit of transfusion (p=0.001) and duration of transfusion therapy (p=0.003) were significantly associated with development of hypothyroidism.