Assessment of Thyroid Function in Chronic Kidney Disease Patients at King Abdulaziz Medical City

Abstract

Background

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is a progressive and irreversible condition in which the kidneys lose their ability to perform synthetic, excretory, and metabolic functions. CKD is associated with various pathophysiological conditions that impact multiple organs, including the thyroid gland, which primarily secretes triiodothyronine (T3) and thyroxine (T4). This study aims to assess thyroid function in patients with CKD and explore the relationship between renal disease severity and thyroid function.

Methods

This retrospective study included 200 patients with CKD who were admitted to King Abdulaziz Medical City Hospital, a tertiary center in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, between 2016 and 2023. Patients were selected based on their age and health status. A predesigned questionnaire was used to collect key demographic, renal, and thyroid function test data, which were then analyzed using IBM SPSS Statistics for Windows, Version 20.0 (Released 2011; IBM Corp., Armonk, NY, USA).

Results

Out of the 200 CKD patients analyzed in this study, 120 (60%) were male and 80 (40%) were female. The results showed that 73.4% (n = 149) had normal thyroid function (euthyroidism). Thirty-nine patients (20.5%) had hypothyroidism, while only two patients (1.1%) had hyperthyroidism. Thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH), FT3, and FT4 levels were measured across various stages of CKD. Hypothyroidism was most prevalent in stages 5 (30.8%) and 4 (23.1%) based on FT3 levels. It was highest in CKD stage 5 (38.5%) and stage 3 (30.8%) based on T4 levels. Hyperthyroidism was observed in CKD stages 3 (50.0%) and 5 (50.0%) based on TSH levels.

Conclusions

Patients with CKD exhibit fluctuations in T3 and TSH levels, with thyroid dysfunction increasing in parallel with the severity of renal disease.