A Study to Evaluate the Thyroid Function in Sero Positive Rheumatoid Arthritis.

Area of Science:

• Rheumatology
• Endocrinology
• Autoimmune Diseases

Background:

• Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a prevalent autoimmune disease causing chronic joint inflammation and systemic issues.
• Extra-articular manifestations are common in RA, affecting up to 76% of patients.
• Thyroid dysfunction, including autoimmune thyroid disease, occurs in 6-33% of RA patients.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the prevalence of thyroid dysfunction in patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis.
• To identify the types of thyroid dysfunction present in RA patients.
• To emphasize the need for thyroid function screening in RA management.

Main Methods:

• A hospital-based observational, descriptive study was conducted.
• The study included 260 Rheumatoid Arthritis patients attending outpatient and inpatient departments.
• Data collection occurred from July 2018 until the target sample size was met.

Main Results:

• The mean age of participants was 40.80±10.91 years, with the highest prevalence in the 35-45 age group.
• Rheumatoid arthritis was more common in females (81.54%) than males (18.46%).
• Thyroid dysfunction was observed in 20% of RA patients, with overt hypothyroidism being the most common (10.77%), followed by subclinical hypothyroidism (8.46%). Anti-TPO antibodies were present in 82.14% of patients with overt hypothyroidism.

Conclusions:

• Rheumatoid arthritis predominantly affects females and individuals around 40 years old.
• A significant 20% prevalence of thyroid dysfunction was found in the studied RA patient cohort.
• The high prevalence of thyroid dysfunction in RA, often linked to autoimmunity, necessitates routine thyroid function testing for all RA patients.