Assessment of thyroid dysfunction in type 2 diabetes mellitus patients in Sokoto, North -Western Nigeria

Diabetes Mellitus (DM) and Thyroid Dysfunction (TD) are the two most common endocrinopathies seen in general population. Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is commonly associated with altered thyroid function. The aim of this study is to evaluate TD in patients with T2DM in Sokoto, Nigeria. Blood samples were collected from 80 type 2 diabetic patients and equal number of apparently healthy matched controls and analyzed for fasting blood sugar (FBS), glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c), thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH), triiodothyronine (T3), thyroxine (T4), cholesterol, triglycerides (TG), high density lipoprotein (HDL-C), and low density lipoprotein (LDL-C). The mean age of T2DM patients and controls were 37.06±6.09 and 37.10±9.90 respetively. The levels of FBS, HbA1c, Cholesterol, TG, and LDL-C were observed to be significantly high and the level of HDL-C was significantly low in diabetics as compared to control. The levels of T3 and T4 were significantly low while the level of TSH was significantly high in Type 2 diabetics. Thyroid dysfunction may complicate metabolic control in diabetes mellitus. It’s important for routine screening of thyroid disease (hormones) among patients with diabetes so as to stabilize metabolic control and reduce morbidity.