[Hypothyroidism in the elderly of advanced age]

Thyroid function tests were performed on 445 in-patients over a four month period at the Department of Medicine of a teaching hospital attached to the University of Kiel. Excluding those severely ill, moribund or known to have abnormal thyroid function, the study included all patients over 60 years of age. Diagnostic criteria were clinical symptoms, results of the TRH test and of T4-RIA, in addition to nonspecific tests of blood sugar, serum cholesterol and blood count. Among the 445 patients there were 15 with manifest hypothyroidism (3.4%), previously undiagnosed. A further 23 (5.2%) had the subclinical variant of "borderline hypothyroidism". The sex ratio was normal for manifest and for borderline hypothyroidism. The classical cardinal clinical symptoms were present in only those with severe and marked hypothyroidism, i.e. not even a third of all those with manifest hypothyroidism.