Cardiovascular Risk Factors in Children and Adolescents with Subclinical Hypothyroidism.

Background: Subclinical hypothyroidism (SCH) is a commonly encountered entity in day-to-day clinical practice and has been associated with adverse cardiovascular risk profile in adults and children. Data on children and adolescents with SCH, from India, are limited.

Materials And Methods: This study was a cross-sectional case-control study, conducted at a tertiary care center in Northeast India. Twenty-seven children and adolescents aged 11 ± 2.4 years with SCH and thyroid-stimulating hormone >7.5 mIU/L were included in the study along with 20 age-, gender-, and height-matched controls. Multiple clinical, biochemical, and radiological cardiovascular risk factors were assessed and compared between the two groups.

Results: Body mass index (BMI) ( = 0.048), waist circumference ( = 0.008), waist to height ratio ( = 0.007), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol ( = 0.04), triglycerides (TGs) ( = 0.038), TGs to high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol ratio ( = 0.005), non-HDL cholesterol ( = 0.019), fasting insulin ( = 0.006), and homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance ( = 0.007) were found to be significantly higher while free T4 ( = 0.002) and HDL cholesterol ( = 0.019) were found to be significantly lower in SCH subjects compared to controls. On multiple regression analysis, BMI was found to have significant association with multiple cardiovascular risk factors.

Conclusion: Children and adolescents with SCH were found to have adverse cardiovascular risk profile. Long-term follow-up studies are required to assess the clinical significance of these findings and requirement for therapy.