A recent study published in JAMA Internal Medicine has found that older adults exposed to low levels of thyrotropin (TSH), due to either natural or medically induced thyrotoxicosis, face a higher risk of developing cognitive disorders.
This research underscores the potential cognitive risks associated with excess thyroid hormone, a condition often resulting from thyroid hormone treatments.
Roy Adams, Ph.D., from the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore, and his team conducted a comprehensive cohort study. Their goal was to investigate the connection between thyrotoxicosis and an increased risk of cognitive disorders.
They focused on patients aged 65 and older who had at least two visits to their primary care physicians 30 days apart. The study included a significant number of participants, totaling 65,931 patients.
The key factor the researchers looked at was the level of TSH, a hormone critical for regulating thyroid function.
Low levels of TSH were the primary indicator of thyrotoxicosis, which can occur naturally (endogenous) or as a result of medical treatment (exogenous). They also considered cases where the cause of the low TSH levels was unknown.
The findings were significant. By the age of 75, the incidence of cognitive disorder was 11.0% in patients exposed to thyrotoxicosis, compared to 6.4% in those not exposed.
After adjusting for various factors, the study showed that any form of thyrotoxicosis was associated with a higher risk of being diagnosed with a cognitive disorder.
When looking specifically at exogenous thyrotoxicosis, this remained a notable risk factor, suggesting a dose-response relationship.
The study highlights an important consideration: excess thyroid hormone, often a consequence of thyroid hormone treatment, could lead to increased risks of cognitive disorders among older adults.
This raises awareness about the potential side effects of thyroid treatments and the need for careful monitoring, especially in older populations.
One of the researchers involved in the study has disclosed connections to the biopharmaceutical industry, which is not uncommon in medical research. This disclosure is essential for transparency and to understand the context of the study’s findings.
The research findings can be found in JAMA Internal Medicine.
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