Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 14, 2025
An Affordable HIV-1 Drug Resistance Monitoring Method for Resource Limited Settings
Published on: March 30, 2014
Study of thyroid dysfunction in people living with HIV in Nepalese population undergoing antiretroviral therapy: a
Uday K Sah1, Mehraj Ansari2, Anil K Sah2
1121723School of Life Science, Department of Biochemistry, Singhania University, Jhunjhunu, Rajasthan, India.
Introduction:
Thyroid dysfunction is one of the most common endocrine disorders in people living with HIV (PLHIV). The abnormality in thyroid function has been linked with the adverse effects of prolonged antiretroviral therapy (ART) in PLHIV, but its prevalence remains obscure. The present study aimed to determine the prevalence of impaired thyroid function and its relationship to ART duration in Nepalese people living with HIV.
Methods:
This cross-sectional clinical laboratory based study was conducted at SRL Diagnostics Nepal, Pvt. Ltd. from October 2021 to May 2022. Two hundred and three HIV-seropositive patients enrolled at Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital (TUTH) in Kathmandu, Nepal were examined for their thyroid function test (TFT) by analyzing the serum T3, T4, and TSH concentrations using a fully automated COBAS e411 analyzer (Roche Diagnostics, USA) based on the electrochemiluminescence assay (ECLIA).
Results:
Out of 203 PLHIV, 22 (10.83%) had a thyroid disorder, with subclinical hypothyroidism (n = 16, 72.73%) being the most common, followed by subclinical hyperthyroidism (n = 3, 13.63%). Thyroid dysfunction had no significant correlation with HIV/ART duration (p = 0.304) and sex (p = 0.419), whereas, the risk of thyroid dysfunction was induced with the rise in the age of the PLHIV (p = 0.002, ϕ = 0.274). There were no significant differences in the mean serum T3, T4 and TSH values among different sexes and the HIV/ART duration, however a significant difference in the mean values of TSH (F (3, 199) = 3.231, p = 0.023) and T3 (F (3, 199) = 4.587, p = 0.004) among the different age-groups were shown. The mean T3 values also indicated a gradual decrease with increasing age.
Conclusion:
The study revealed subclinical hypothyroidism as the prevailing thyroid disorder associated with PLHIV. The risk of thyroid dysfunction in PLHIV was neither gender specific nor being attributed by the ART duration in Nepalese population; however, elderly PLHIV were highly susceptible to the risk of thyroid disorder.
Related Concept Videos
01:20Synthesis and Regulation of Thyroid Hormones
Upon reaching the thyroid gland, TSH stimulates the follicular cells' active uptake of iodide ions from the blood. The ions diffuse to the apical surface of the cells and are oxidized to iodine. The...
01:23The Thyroid Gland
The follicles have a central cavity lined by simple cuboidal to squamous epithelial cells called follicular cells. These cells produce the glycoprotein...
01:29Pulmonary Tuberculosis I
Causative Organism
The primary infectious agent causing tuberculosis is Mycobacterium tuberculosis, a slow-growing, acid-fast, aerobic rod that exhibits sensitivity to heat and ultraviolet light. Instances of Mycobacterium bovis and Mycobacterium avium contributing to the development of TB infection are rare.
Mode of...
01:18Functions of Thyroid Hormones
TH is indispensable for the normal development and maturation of the skeletal, muscular, and nervous systems during fetal and childhood growth. It facilitates bone mineral turnover and regulates protein synthesis in developing tissues, contributing significantly to overall growth and...
01:10Retrovirus Life Cycles