Prevalence of Thyroid Dysfunction in Newly Diagnosed Rheumatoid Arthritis Patients

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is associated with various autoimmune disorders, including thyroid dysfunction. However, local data studying the prevalence of thyroid dysfunction in newly diagnosed RA patients are limited.

This case-control study was conducted between January 2019 to December 2020 in the Internal Medicine Department of Liaquat University of Medical and Health Sciences. The study group of 400 newly diagnosed patients with RA was enrolled in the study. Another 400 patients without the diagnosis of RA, adjusted for age and gender, were enrolled in the study as a control group and their thyroid functions were compared.

Patients with RA had more participants with thyroid dysfunction compared to patients without RA (25.25% vs. 11.5%; p-value: 0.00001). In addition, more patients with RA had concomitant primary hypothyroidism compared to the control group (7.75% vs. 2.5%; p-value: 0.0007). Furthermore, patients with RA also had a higher prevalence of subclinical hypothyroidism (13.0% vs. 5.5%; p-value: 0.0002).

Our study indicates that thyroid dysfunction is significantly prevalent in patients with RA. Based on our findings, it is suggested that management and follow-up of RA patients should include the screening of thyroid auto-antibodies and thyroid dysfunction.