Sciencedaily: Subclinical Thyroid Condition Associated With Increased Cardiovascular Mortality
Having high thyroid activity, and even "high-normal" levels, is a significant risk factor for cardiovascular and all-cause mortality, according to work which has received an award at the European Congress of Endocrinology in Copenhagen.
...a group of Danish researchers led by Dr Christian Selmer studied the thyroid test results of more than half a million individuals who underwent thyroid testing in Copenhagen between 2000 and 2009. They found that those with subclinical hyperthyroidism were significantly more likely to die from cardiovascular disease. They also found that even patients having only slightly elevated thyroid activity, but still within the range which would be considered normal, showed a tendency to higher cardiovascular and other mortality.
The group looked at the results of 574,595 patients who had undergone testing. 95.9% of these patients showed normal thyroid function. However 6,264 patients exhibited subclinical hyperthyroidism, 706 of whom subsequently died of various causes. According to Christian Selmer:
"According to our work, 15% of deaths in the subclinical hyperthyroidism group could be attributed to the condition."
Even those at the high end of the normal range showed an increase in mortality. There were 13,434 patients in this range. 1,013 of these patients died of various causes, with 17% of the deaths associated with the thyroid condition. The authors emphasised that it is difficult to put exact numbers on the actual excess deaths caused by the condition for a variety of reasons. They state that they do not know if treatment of these conditions will in fact eliminate these excess deaths. This will be the goal of further studies.
Edited by DR01D, 30 April 2013 - 01:35 PM.
