1 Department of Medical Laboratory Sciences, Faculty of Health Sciences and Technology, College of Medicine, University of Nigeria Enugu Campus. Enugu State, Nigeria.
2 Department of Orthopedic, National Orthopedic Hospital Enugu. Enugu State, Nigeria.
GSC Advanced Research and Reviews, 2026, 27(01), 029-037
Article DOI: 10.30574/gscarr.2026.27.1.0082
Received on 24 February 2026; revised on 1 April 2026; accepted on 4 April 2026
Objective: Diabetes and thyroid disorders have been shown to mutually influence each other. The reported association of thyroid disorders with diabetes mellitus raises the risk of higher prevalence of thyroid disorder in patients with diabetes mellitus especially the type 2 and hence the exacerbation of the condition diabetes and its related complications. We evaluated thyroid hormones levels (T3, T4, TS and FT4) in diabetic patients attending University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital, Ituku-Ozalla, Enugu State, Nigeria.
Methods: A total of 142 subjects were recruited for this cross sectional and correlational study. Eighty (80) diabetic test subjects and sixty (60) non-diabetic control subjects. Anthropometric indices height (m), weight (kg) and blood pressure (mmHg) and the body mass index (kg/m2) were measured for all subjects. Fasting blood glucose (FBG) was determined colorimetrically. The thyroid hormones: Thyroxine (T4), thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH), triiodothyronine (T3) and free thyroxine (FT4) were estimated using Enzyme linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA). Data obtained was analyzed using statistical package for social sciences (SPSS) version 25 and results expressed as mean and standard deviation.
Results: There was a significance increase p<0.05 in FBG (8.68 ± 9.94, 4.64 ± 0.56 mmol/L), BM1 (25.49 ±1.38; 24.42±0.5), SBP (144.50±7.50, 112.0±6.05 mmHg), DBP (99.22 ± 6.49, 72.43 ±7.30 mmHg) respectively for diabetic and non-diabetic subjects. For the thyroid function test, only triiodothyronine (T3) and thyroid stimulating hormones (TSH) of the diabetic subjects showed a significant low values when compared with that of the non-diabetic subjects (p<0.05). Thyroxine (T4) and free thyroxine (FT4) showed no significance (p>0.05). T3 (nmol/L) (0.055±0.18; 1.6±0.43), TSH (mIU/L) (3.39±2.24; 5.01±2.29), T4 (ng/dl) (10.90±2.02; 9.79±0.96), FT4 (ng/dl) (0.71±0.16; 0.66±0.18) respectively for diabetic and non-diabetic subjects. The results were correlated and there was a positive correlation between T4 and FT4 (r=0.609, p = 0.000), T4 and BMI (r = 0.350, p = 0.027), FT4 and DBP (r = 0.314, P = 0.049) and T3 and BMI (r = 0.846), p = 0.000).
Conclusion: There is significant variation in the thyroid functions among the diabetic subjects and hence the need for regular thyroid function checks for diabetic patients.
Thyroid-Hormones; Diabetics; Blood pressure; Enugu-Nigeria
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Ifeoma Chinwe Ikegwuonu, Lilian Kosiso Onyishi, Kenneth Chidozie Ugwuodo, Kenneth Arinze Odo-eke, Chizaram Ngozi Ogbene and Patrick Tobenna Ikegwuonu. Evaluation of thyroid hormones alterations in diabetic subjects: A correlational study. GSC Advanced Research and Reviews, 2026, 27(01), 029-037. Article DOI: https://doi.org/10.30574/gscarr.2026.27.1.0082.