Assessment of cardiovascular risk factors in patients with subclinical hypothyroidism

Objective Overt hypothyroidism is associated with accelerated arteriosclerosis and cardiovascular disease (CVD). Whether subclinical hypothyroidism (SCH) is also associated with increased cardiovascular risk remains controversial. The present study aimed to evaluate risk factors for CVD in SCH patients in comparison to healthy controls.Methods We assessed common lipid variables, fasting glucose, insulin, malondialdehyde (MDA), total bilirubin (TB) and homeostasis model assessment (HOMA) index in 34 patients with SCH and 34 healthy controls.Results In SCH there was an elevated total cholesterol (TC) (P <0.01), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) (P <0.01) and fasting glucose (P <0.001) concentration, a diminished TB value (P <0.001) and borderline elevated triglycerides (TG) (not reaching the limit of significance, P =0.063). LDL-C to HDL-C ratio was also elevated (P <0.05). MDA and HOMA index were higher in the SCH subjects but this difference was not statistically significant. Insulin, high-densi...