The changes of thyroid function in the elderly and correlation of the changes with atherosclerosis and cardiac function

Objective To investigate the changes of thyroid function in the elderly and correlation of the changes with atherosclerosis and cardiac function. Methods The 1 973 inpatients were randomly selected in the First Hospital of Lanzhou University from January 2013 to May 2015.A total of 472 patients of the 1 973 inpatients meeting the inclusive criteria received thyroid function testing, and their correlated clinical data were collected for analysis. Results (1)The prevalence of overt and subclinical hypothyroidism was 48.5% and increased along with ageing(Z=30.63, P 0.05). The levels of TT3, TT4 and TSH changed with ageing(F=11.782, 5.061 and 2.851, each P 0.05). Conclusions The elderly patients show a change in the serum levels of TSH and thyroid hormones with ageing.And the prevalence of overt and subclinical hypothyroidism is obviously increased along with ageing.Hypothyroidism is the risk factor for atherosclerosis and cardiac diastolic dysfunction. Key words: Thyroid; Atherosclerosis; Heart function tests