Study on Ischemia Modified Albumin (IMA) and high sensitive C-Reactive Protein (hs-CRP) in subjects with hypothyroidism

Introduction: Thyroid diseases are the commonest endocrine disorders worldwide. According to a projection from various studies on thyroid disease, it has been estimated that about 42 million people in India suffer from thyroid diseases. Hypothyroidism patients are more prone for cardiovascular abnormalities. In our study we have studied the marker of ischemia, Ischemia Modified Albumin & marker of inflammation hs CRP in hypothyroidism patients. Objectives: 1.        To estimate the thyroid hormone levels (T3, T4, TSH) in hypothyroidism patients compared with normal subjects 2.        To estimate levels of IMA & hs CRP in hypothyroidism patients compared with normal subjects Materials and Method: The study group includes 61 hypothyroidism patients and 61 age & sex matched healthy controls. hs-CRP was measured by immunoturbidimetric method using fully automated analyzer, IMA was measured by Albumin Cobalt Binding method & thyroid hormones are measured by ECLIA method. Statistical analysis was done using SPSS 16 version software. Results: In our study we have found that there is statistically significant (p value< 0.05) increase in hs-CRP & IMA levels in hypothyroidism patients compared to controls. Conclusion: The levels of IMA - a marker of ischemia & hs-CRP - a marker of inflammation were increased in patients with hypothyroidism. This indicates that the altered thyroid hormones have strong impact on the imbalances between the production of oxidants and their elimination by antioxidant systems in the circulation. The consequences of this imbalance cause lipid abnormality in the body which indicates that the hypothyroid patients are more prone for ischemic changes in the cardiac tissue leading to atherosclerosis & myocardial infarction. Therefore, estimation of these novel markers such as IMA & hs-CRP levels in hypothyroid patients might be useful as early markers to detect the future cardiac ischemic diseases. Keywords: Hypothyroidism, IMA, hs-CRP