Assessment of Thyroid Dysfunctions in Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus Patients in Surman, Western-Libya

Diabetes mellitus (DM) and thyroid dysfunction (TD) are the two most common endocrine disorders in clinical practice. The study aim to find out the prevalence of thyroid disorders in type 2 diabetes mellitus patients. In a cross-sectional study 369 diagnosed type 2 DM patients, of which 203 are males and 166 are females, age reneged from (18 to 73) were enrolled, from July 2016 to July 2016. Their demographic data were obtained by through a questionnaire. Serum FT3, FT4, TSH and thyroid Antibodies (Tg-Ab, AM-Ab and TR-Ab) were measured using TOSOH, ELISA and enzymatic methods respectively. Out the 369 type 2 DM patients, of whom 9.5% are thyroid disorders, 2.3% have hypothyroidism, 5.0% subclinical hypothyroidism and 2.2% hyperthyroidism. Thyroid disorders are more common in female’s 16.5:1 fold. Compared with the control group, hypothyroid and subclinical hypothyroid DM patients have significant increase in TSH while significant decreases were observed in FT3 and FT4. TSH was significantly lower while FT3 and FT4 were significantly higher in hyperthyroidism DM patients. Moreover 23.3% of hypothyroidism has positive Tg-Ab, 23.3% has AM-Ab and 100% of hyperthyroidism has positive TR-Ab. The data suggested that, the prevalence of thyroid diseases is common in type 2 DM Libyan patients. Autoantibodies are the main causes of thyroid dysfunction, therefore, could predict and increase risk of thyroid disease, especially in females.