Thyroid Problems Could Raise Dementia Risk

By Jonathan Springston, Editor, Relias Media

Older patients living with thyroid maladies may need to be monitored closely for cognitive decline, according to the authors of a recently published paper.

In Taiwan, researchers turned to the National Health Insurance Research Database to gather data on 7,843 adults with newly diagnosed dementia and 7,843 adults without a dementia diagnosis. Slightly more than half of all patients in the cohort were women, with a mean age of about 75 years.

Among these patients, investigators were searching for two conditions: hypothyroidism, an underactive thyroid that can slow metabolism (n = 102), and hyperthyroidism, an overactive thyroid that can speed metabolism (n = 133). Among the dementia group, 68 patients had hypothyroidism vs. 34 patients without dementia.

After the authors adjusted for other risk factors tied to dementia, they observed patients older than age 65 years with hypothyroidism were 80% more likely to develop dementia. For patients taking medication for hypothyroidism, the risk for developing dementia was three times higher than those not on medication.

In addition to its observational nature, this study was limited by the fact these researchers pulled data from only one country’s database. Additionally, there was no information about the degree of hypothyroidism severity.

“In some cases, thyroid disorders have been associated with dementia symptoms that can be reversible with treatment,” Chien-Hsiang Weng, MD, MPH, of Brown University and study author, said in a statement. “While more studies are needed to confirm these findings, people should be aware of thyroid problems as a possible risk factor for dementia and therapies that could prevent or slow irreversible cognitive decline.”

For more on this and related subjects, be sure to read the latest issues of Neurology Alert.