Thyroid profile in geriatric population

All over the world the elderly population is growing continuously and it is projected that in the next few decades, most of the elderly people will be in the developing countries. Improvement in living standards and better medical facilities has led to a decline in mortality and higher life expectancy among geriatric population. 2001 census has shown that the elderly population of India accounted for 77 million.The elderly population aged 70 and above, which was only 8 million in 1961 rose to 21 million in 1991 and to 29 million in 2001.Ageing leads to number of medical problems, which could be attributed to various physiological changes occurring in all organs of the body. 1 The aim of the study was to observe the thyroid parameter in geriatric age group to contribute to the ongoing debate whether the normal TSH level should be reconsidered in view of the large no of subclinical hypothyroidism cases in elderly.