A Prospective Study of Serum Thyroid Stimulating Hormone and Lipid Function in Post Menopausal Women

Abstract

Introduction: Menopause has a direct impact on the activity of the thyroid gland. During menopause there is imbalance in the oestrogen and progesterone hormone levels that may in turn have a drastic impact on the thyroid hormone production. So, correlation between S.TSH and serum lipid profile is assessed to detect what type of alteration occurs in lipid profile.2 The chance of cardiovascular disease is more in women over age 50. The risk of atherosclerosis in women increases significantly after menopause. The risk of atherosclerosis is 3.4 times greater in post-menopausal women. Three types of lipids that have been linked to cardiovascular disease and atherosclerosis are cholesterol and its carrier proteins LDL (low density lipoprotein)and HDL(high density lipoprotein).The risk for cardiovascular disease decreases by 3 % for each 1 % reduction in serum cholesterol.Materials and Methods: This was a cross sectional observational study done for one year from January 2019 to December 2019. Two study groups were selected; forty premenopausal women in the reproductive age group and forty post-menopausal women attending medicine outpatient department with prior informed consent. Exclusion criteria were subjects with known thyroid disease and subjects having diabetes, hypertension and heart disease. Screening of all subjects for the study was done using proforma. Samples of blood were taken by phlebotomy method after an overnight fast of twelve hours using syringes and needles which are disposable. 8 ml blood was collected from ante cubital vein under aseptic precautions and transferred to bottles. Serum TSH and all parameters of lipid profile were estimated and analysed. S.TSH measured using an automated chemiluminescenceanalyser. Estimation of total cholesterol was done using cholesterol reagent set. This is based on enzymatic method. Estimation of HDL cholesterol also done by enzymatic method.Results: Serum cholesterol / HDL ratio, LDL / HDL ratio is significantly higher in post-menopausal women. In post-menopausal women, levels of TSH and serum cholesterol were found to be positively correlated and this is found to be statistically significant. In post-menopausal women, the levels of S.TSH and serum cholesterol/ HDL ratio were found to be positively correlated and this is found to be statistically significant. In post-menopausal women, the levels of S.TSH and LDL / HDL ratio were found to be positively correlated and this is found to be statistically significant.Conclusion: A statistically significant positive correlation was seen between S.TSH and serum cholesterol levels in post-menopausal women. A statistically significant positive correlation was observed between S.TSH and serum cholesterol/HDL ratio levels in post-menopausal group of women. A statistically significant positive correlation was obtained between S.TSH and LDL/HDL ratio levels in post-menopausal group of women. A statistically significant correlation was not seen between S.TSH and other parameters of lipid profile in post-menopausal group. A statistically significant correlation was not seen between S.TSH and any parameters of lipid profile in the premenopausal women.