Hypothyroidism is significantly more common in female patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) than in women in general, and this further increases their already elevated risk for cardiovascular disease, Dutch researchers report in the February issue of Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases.
Dr. Michael T. Nurmohamed of VU University Medical Center, Amsterdam and colleagues, who note that data on the influence of thyroid disorders is scarce, studied 358 RA patients, 236 of whom were women. All were taking part in an ongoing cardiovascular study.
Clinical hypothyroidism was seen in none of the men and 16 of the studied women (6.8%) compared to 2.7% in the general Dutch population. Six of the women had subclinical hypothyroidism as did 4 of the men.
The women with clinical hypothyroidism also had significantly more cardiovascular disease than did euthyroid RA patients (37.5% versus 13.0%). After adjustment for possible confounders such as age, hypertension, and statin use, the odds ratio was 4.6.
"Clinical hypothyroidism accelerates the already enhanced cardiovascular risk in rheumatoid arthritis," senior investigator Dr. Michael T. Nurmohamed told Reuters Health. Because of this, he concluded, "consider screening for thyroid disorders in rheumatoid arthritis patients."
Ann Rheum Dis 2008;67:229-232.
That's what I thought, too, but I'm thinking she'll refer this type of issue to a GP. (It would be so much easier getting done when you're already poked!)
[QUOTE=MrsA]That's what I thought, too, but I'm thinking she'll refer this type of issue to a GP. (It would be so much easier getting done when you're already poked!)
[/QUOTE]