22 Nov Seasonal Changes in Thyroid Function Tests

MedicalResearch.com Interview with:

Charit Taneja, MBBS
Internal Medicine Resident

Dr. Maria Del Pilar Brito

Maria Brito, MD
Co-Director, Mount Sinai’s Thyroid Center
Assistant Professor, Medicine, Endocrinology, Diabetes and Bone Disease
Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai

MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study?

Response:  There have been reports of seasonal fluctuations in thyroid function, however there are no standard guidelines for management of such fluctuations and their clinical implications. It is not a well-studied subject and there are insufficient guidelines around its clinical implications. 

MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings?

Response:  Our patient had winter elevation of TSH and summer normalisation repeatedly over a course of three years, but remained largely asymptomatic despite the biochemical alterations. 

MedicalResearch.com: What should readers take away from your report? 

• Seasonal changes can occur in TSH, and would become clinically important in the following scenarios: pregnancy, postpartum, and in patients that are symptomatic from thyroid dysfunction.
• So long as the abnormality is mild, patients with asymptomatic fluctuations in thyroid function don’t necessarily require treatment with levothyroxine, given the cyclical normalization.

MedicalResearch.com: What recommendations do you have for future research as a result of this work?

Response: Ours was a case study from a single patient. We are looking for patients with similar variations to study thyroid function trends and their clinical implications in a larger group. Widespread use of thyroid function testing in asymptomatic individuals could possibly result in greater detection of such cases.

We have no disclosures.

Citation:

SEASONAL TRANSITIONS BETWEEN EUTHYROIDISM AND SUBCLINICAL HYPOTHYROIDISM

Last Modified: [last-modified] 

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Last Updated on November 22, 2019 by Marie Benz MD FAAD