Introduction:

Free thyroxine (T4), free triiodothyronine thyroid (T3) and thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) are recognized as regulators of lipid synthesis, mobilization and degradation.

Objective:

To find a relationship between dyslipidemia and thyroid disease in an adult population.

Methods:

This was a cross-sectional study of 819 individuals. TSH, free T4, total cholesterol (TC), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), and triglycerides (TG) were measured.

Results:

The general population showed normal TC, normal LDL-C, low HDL-C, and elevated TG. The prevalence of dyslipidemia was as follows: elevated TC 31.9%, HDL-C <40 mg/dL 57.9%, elevated LDL-C 24.3% and TG ≥200 mg/dL 26%. The prevalence of TSH ≥4.6 mIU/L was 8.1%. The prevalence of overt hypothyroidism was 1.2%, and that of subclinical hypothyroidism was 6.7%. The prevalences of elevated TC in individuals with overt hypothyroidism and normal thyroid levels were 50.0% and 31.6%, respectively. However, in those with subclinical hypothyroidism, the prevalences were 43.6% and 31.0% (p=0.04) for elevated TC and 40.0% and 23.2% (p=0.006) for elevated LDL-C.

A significant relationship was found between TSH ≥4.6 mIU/L and elevated TC (OR=1.9, p=0.01) and elevated LDL-C (OR=2.5, p=0.001); the frequency of elevated LDL-C was 2.2 times greater in people with subclinical hypothyroidism than in people with normal TSH levels.

Conclusion:

Given agricultural workers' particular socioeconomic conditions and access to the health system, it is important to design screening programs for biomarkers that allow early detection of changes in thyroid hormones, TSH and lipid profiles to provide this population with preventive interventions to reduce morbimortality due to cardiovascular events (Acta Med Colomb 2019; 44. DOI:https://doi.org/10.36104/amc.2019.1094).

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