European Journal of Molecular & Clinical Medicine

Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a chronic autoimmune disease, the pathogenesis of which remains elusive. Recently, many studies have indicated that the prevalence of thyroid dysfunction is higher in SLE patients than in the general population. Present study was aimed to study prevalence of thyroid dysfunction in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus. Material and Methods: Present study was descriptive, cross‑sectional observational study, conducted in patients attending OPD / IPD, diagnosed cases of SLE by Systemic Lupus International Collaborating Clinics 2012 lupus classification criteria. Results: In present study, 63 SLE patients were studied. Among 63 patients, only 3 were male (4.76 %), rest were female (95.24 %) & mean age was 34.56 ± 11.95 years. Prevalence of autoantibodies was noted as ANA (77.78 %), dsDNA (57.14 %), %), Anti-TPO (34.92 %) & Anti-Tg (30.16 %), In present study, normal TSH levels was 0.35-5.5 µIU/ml, normal fT3 levels was 2.1-4.4 pg/ml & normal fT4 levels was 0.7-1.8 ng/dl. In present study, abnormal TSH levels noted in 16 cases (high – 22.22 % & low- 3.17 %), abnormal fT3 levels noted in 14 cases (low – 20.63 % & high- 1.59 %) & abnormal fT4 levels noted in 18 cases (high – 1.59 % & low- 26.98 %). Thyroid dysfunction was noted in 27 cases (42.86 %), majority had subclinical hypothyroidism (17.46 %), clinical hypothyroidism (11.11 %) & subclinical hyperthyroidism (1.59 %), while anti‑TPO alone elevated noted in 8 cases (12.7 %). Conclusion: There is a greater possibility of missing the diagnosis of thyroid dysfunctions in SLE patients, as both the diseases have similar clinical manifestations. We noted higher incidence of thyroid dysfunctions in SLE patients