Pulmonary hypertension and Hashimoto's thyroiditis: does a relationship exist?

Area of Science:

• Endocrinology
• Cardiology
• Immunology

Background:

• Idiopathic pulmonary hypertension (IPH) has been investigated for links to autoimmune thyroid diseases.
• Hashimoto's thyroiditis (HT) is a common autoimmune thyroid condition.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate potential correlations between pulmonary hypertension and Hashimoto's thyroiditis.
• To compare pulmonary artery pressures and cardiac function in patients with HT and healthy controls.

Main Methods:

• Enrolled 93 participants: 70 with HT (euthyroid) and 23 controls.
• Conducted anthropometric and biochemical assessments.
• Performed two-dimensional trans-thoracic echocardiography to measure systolic (sPAP) and end-diastolic pulmonary artery pressures (dPAP), and left ventricle ejection fraction.

Main Results:

• No significant differences in anthropometric or biochemical parameters between groups.
• Patients with HT showed higher sPAP (p=0.044) and lower dPAP (p<0.0001) compared to controls.
• A statistically significant difference was observed in left ventricle ejection fraction (p=0.037).
• Multivariate regression analysis did not confirm these findings.

Conclusions:

• Patients with Hashimoto's thyroiditis did not exhibit relevant pulmonary hypertension compared to healthy controls.
• Despite some statistical differences in echocardiographic parameters, the clinical significance remains uncertain.
• Further research may be needed to fully elucidate the relationship between HT and cardiovascular parameters.