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Levothyroxine may improve lipid profiles in patients with mild subclinical hypothyroidism
In patients with mild subclinical hypothyroidism, treatment with levothyroxine appears to significantly reduce serum total cholesterol and LDL levels, according to study findings published in Thyroid.
Haiqing Zhang, PhD, and Jiajun Zhao, PhD, both of the department of endocrinology and metabolism at Shandong Provincial Hospital affiliated to Shandong University in China, and colleagues evaluated 369 adults with subclinical hypothyroidism from the Shandong province of China to determine whether levothyroxine therapy affects lipid profiles.
Participants were randomly assigned to levothyroxine (n = 210; intervention group) or no treatment (n = 159; control group).
Total cholesterol levels decreased in both groups, but the decrease was greater in the treatment group (–0.41 mmol/L) compared with the control group (–0.17 mmol/L; P = .012). LDL level reductions were not significant in the control group, but they were in the intervention group (3.34 mmol/L at baseline vs. 3.25 mmol/L at endpoint; P = .023). The intervention group also had decreased HDL levels (1.41 mmol/L at baseline vs. 1.36 mmol/L; P = .001), whereas the levels increased in the control group (1.41 mmol/L at baseline vs. 1.48 mmol/L at endpoint; P = .001). Triglyceride levels decreased in both groups.
“Our study illustrates that [levothyroxine] treatment results in significantly decreased serum [total cholesterol] and LDL-[cholesterol] levels in mild [subclinical hypothyroidism] patients,” the researchers wrote. “Our results might provide reliable and important data for evidence-based medicine to help clinicians offer effective treatment advice to mild [subclinical hypothyroidism] patients,” the researchers wrote. “A long-term, prospective, randomized controlled trial is necessary to investigate the effects of [levothyroxine] replacement therapy on cardio-cerebrovascular events.” – by Amber Cox
Disclosure: The researchers report no relevant financial disclosures.