Connecting The Dots: The Impact Of Subclinical Hypothyroidism On Female Subfertility And Obesity

Abstract

Objective: To find the frequency of subclinical hypothyroidism in females with subfertility

Methods: This was a descriptive cross-sectional study Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, CMH Hospital Kharan, for 6 months (1^st Jan 2023 to 30^th June 2023).

A total of 159 females meeting inclusion criteria were included after taking informed consent. Females were enquired about infertility status and their thyroid status was measured in terms of thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) and free thyroxine (FT4). Mean and Standard Deviation were used for quantitative variables whereas frequency and percentages were used for categorical variables.

Results: The mean age of females in this study was 27.86±7.58 years. The mean weight, height and BMI were 72.87 ± 13.31 kg, 1.64 ± 0.06 m, and 27.23 ± 4.90 respectively.

Fifty-three (33.33%) females were obese and 106(66.67%) females were non-obese.  The mean level of TSH was found to be 2.51 ± 2.29 mIU/mL with huge variation as the minimum TSH level was 0.1 and the maximum was 7.90 mIU/mL. The mean FT4 was 1.29±0.4 ng/dl with a minimum and maximum FT4 level of 0.70 and 1.90 ng/dl respectively. There were 43 (27%) females with subclinical hypothyroidism whereas, 116 (73%) did not have subclinical hypothyroidism. There was an association between subclinical hypothyroidism and obesity, p-value < 0.05.

Conclusion: This study concludes that the prevalence of subclinical hypothyroidism was found to be greater in infertile women and hence routine screening of subclinical hypothyroidism among females with subfertility should be practiced. We also found an association of SCH with obesity in these females.

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