Thyroid Hormone Therapy For Adults with Subclinical Hypothyroidism

THYROID HORMONE THERAPY FOR OLDER ADULTS WITH SUBCLINICAL HYPOTHYROIDISM
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Thyroid Hormone Therapy for Older Adults with Subclinical Hypothyroidism
The purpose of this randomized, double-blind, parallel-group trial study was to investigate the clinical benefits of levothyroxine in older persons with subclinical hypothyroidism. The inclusion criteria included participants with 65 years of age and above and with subclinical hypothyroidism. The exclusion criteria included patients with a current prescription for lithium, amiodarone, antithyroid drugs, and levothyroxine. Also, participants who had thyroid surgery or had received iodine in the last 1 year were excluded. Further, patients who had been hospitalized for major illnesses like dementia or had elective surgery in the last 4 weeks were excluded. Lastly, patients with an acute coronary or any other terminal illness in the last 4 weeks were excluded from the study. Adult patients with 65 years of age and above who met the inclusion criteria were selected and enrolled in the study over the 1 year. According to Scott, Rodondi and Kearney, et al. (2017), patients were randomized into the placebo-controlled group of 369 participants and the levothyroxine controlled group of 368 participants. About 35 participants who were assigned to the placebo group discontinued the trial. On the other hand, 36 participants randomly selected to the levothyroxine group discontinued the trial. The participants were given levothyroxine at a dose of 50 μg daily or 25 μg in participants with a bodyweight of <50 kg or with existing coronary heart disease or matching placebo. The adjustment of doses in the levothyroxine group aimed to lead to a thyrotropin level in the reference range of 0.40 to4.59 mIU per liter. The intervention lasted for 1 year.
The tools for analysis included continuous efficacy outcomes. The analysis involved measurements at baseline and follow-up where analysis at each time was given for comparison of the groups with adjustment for stratification variables and baseline levels of the same variable with the utili...