Thyroid Dysfunction in Elderly

Thyroid Dysfunction and it's Association With Comorbidities and Polypharmacy Among Older Adults in a Tertiary Care Hospital, Assiut_Egypt

Status

Not yet recruiting

Phases

Unknown

Study type

Observational

Source

ClinicalTrials.gov

Registry ID

NCT07606560

Acronym

Thyroid dysfun

Enrollment

187

Registered

2026-05-26

Start date

2026-08-01

Completion date

2027-11-30

Last updated

2026-05-26

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

Geriatric Diseases

Keywords

geriatric, thyroid dysfunction, polypharmacy

Brief summary

Thyroid dysfunction in elderly

Detailed description

Thyroid dysfunction is a common endocrine disorder among older adults, with prevalence increasing due to age-related physiological changes and the high burden of chronic diseases (1). It is estimated that 20-30% of individuals aged 60 years and above have some form of thyroid dysfunction, particularly hypothyroidism (2). Aging affects thyroid hormone secretion, metabolism, and tissue responsiveness, which may alter thyroid function tests even in the absence of overt disease (3). In elderly patients, thyroid disorders often present with nonspecific or atypical manifestations such as fatigue, cognitive decline, and weight changes, leading to underdiagnosis (4). Subclinical thyroid dysfunction is also highly prevalent and frequently detected incidentally (5). Older adults commonly suffer from multiple comorbidities involving different organ systems, which complicates both clinical presentation and interpretation of thyroid function tests (6). Thyroid dysfunction has been associated with adverse outcomes, including cardiovascular disease, atrial fibrillation, and increased mortality (7). Polypharmacy is highly prevalent in this population, with many patients receiving five or more medications concurrently (8). Several drugs can interfere with thyroid function or its laboratory assessment (9). Despite the clinical importance of this issue, limited data are available in our locality regarding the combined effect of comorbidities and polypharmacy on thyroid function in older adults. Therefore, this study aims to investigate this association.

Interventions

None listed

Study design

Observational model

CASE_CROSSOVER

Time perspective

PROSPECTIVE

Eligibility

Sex/Gender

ALL

Age

60 Years to No maximum

Healthy volunteers

Yes

Inclusion criteria

Older adult patients aged 60 years or older attending the internal medicine, family medicine, and Geriatric department, both males and females.

Exclusion criteria

patients previously diagnosed with thyroid dysfunction or currently receiving thyroid related treatment, patients with a history of thyroid malignancy, or with end stage organ failure

Design outcomes

Primary

Measure	Time frame	Description
prevalence of thyroid dysfunction in older adult patients	at baseline	prevalence of thyroid dysfunction in older adult patients in Assiut university hospitals geriatric patients
assess association between comorbidities and polypharmacy on thyroid function among older adult patients	at baseline	assess association between comorbidities and polypharmacy on thyroid function among older adult patients

Contacts

CONTACTMarwa Ahmed Ahmed, Assistant Lecturer

mero.doctor9090@gmail.com01094504225

STUDY_DIRECTORSoheir Mostafa Kasim, Professor

Assiut University

Outcome results