Prevalence of Thyroid Dysfunction in Patients with Gallstone Disease: A Cross-sectional Study

Abstract

Introduction: Patients with gallstone disease have already been investigated for the prevalence of previously undetected thyroid dysfunction, and the findings point to a possible link between hypothyroidism and gallstone disease. This research was carried out to support the need for assessment of the thyroid status in patients presenting with gallstones. Aim: To determine the prevalence of thyroid disorders and to study the relationship between thyroid dysfunction and sociodemographic variables in patients with gallstone disease. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional, observational, hospitalbased study was carried out at Geetanjali Medical College and Hospital, Udaipur, Rajasthan, India, in 117 patients with gallstones from January 2021 to June 2022. The sampling method was consecutive sampling. Standard baseline investigations and thyroid profiles were conducted. Operative and perioperative factors such as age (ranging from 18-80 years), sex, co-morbidities, radiological findings (number and size of stones, presence of Common Bile Duct (CBD) stones), thyroid profile, surgeries performed, and significance (p-value) of these factors were assessed based on the Chi-square test. Results: The mean age of participants was 44 years. There were 37 (68%) males and 80 (32%) females. Of the 117 patients, 49 patients (41.9%) were found to have hypothyroidism, and the remaining 68 patients (58.1%) were euthyroid. Among these 49 patients, only 15 were known to have hypothyroidism, while the remaining 34 patients were newly diagnosed. Of the 49 patients, 30 were females and 19 were males. There was no significant association between hypothyroid state and gallstone formation in either males (p-value: 0.154) or females (p-value: 0.194). Conclusion: A low prevalence of hypothyroidism was observed in both sexes. Further large population studies are needed to compare these findings.