Thyroid function in opium users: A Cross-Sectional Study on PERSIAN Cohort of Fasa, 2017

Abstract

Abstract Background Addiction increases the risk of different lifelong disorders. However, there are limited studies evaluating the effects of opium use on thyroid. The present study aimed to compare the thyroid function of opium users and non-users. Methods This cross-sectional study was conducted on 700 participants of the Persian Cohort of Fasa, Iran. Pregnant women and participants with false or missing data were excluded from the study. Frozen plasma samples of the cohort bank were used to determine the levels of T3, T4, and thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH). The thyroid function was compared between the two groups using Mann-Whitney test (P < 0.05). Results The mean age of the study population (n = 648) was 54.0 ± 9.8 years, including 336 men (49.1%) and 197 opium users (28.8%). The median levels of TSH, T4, and T3 were 2.91 ± 4.61, 9.26 ± 3.65, and 1.22 ± 0.49, respectively. The opium users had significantly higher TSH (3.72 ± 6.2 vs. 2.58 ± 3.75) and lower T4 (8 ± 3.6 vs. 9.8 ± 3.5) levels (P < 0.001). Also, T3 was slightly lower in opium users (1.1 ± 0.5 vs. 1.3 ± 0.5; P = 0.369), although this association was only significant in female opium users (P < 0.001). Conclusions The present findings revealed that opium use causes a reduction in T4, while increasing TSH. Therefore, opium use may lead to the development of primary hypothyroidism, which needs to be investigated in future studies.