Subclinical Hypothyroidism among Overweight and Obese Children: An Observational Cross-sectional Study

Introduction: Subclinical Hypothyroidism (SH) is often treated by thyroxine hormone by general pediatricians considering deranged thyroid profile, attributing the derangement to be the cause of obesity. However, childhood obesity increases the risk of SH by means of adaptive mechanisms. Aim: To study the prevalence of SH and their lipid profile derangement in overweight and obese children of Indian population. Materials and Methods: The present study was a crosssectional study conducted in which 60 children, between 5 to 15 years of age, presenting in Department of Paediatrics at ESI PGIMSR Basaidarapur, New Delhi, India from October 2019 to April 2021 were enrolled. The children were grouped into two with 30 in each-overweight (Body Mass Index (BMI) between 23rd to 27th adult equivalent) and obese (BMI more than 27th adult equivalent) children. They were assessed for biochemical derangement including thyroid profile and lipid profile. Results: The mean age of the study sample was 9.3 years and male/female was 41/19. Mean BMI of the obese children was 24.24 kg/m2 and that of overweight was 20.4 kg/m2 . Seven (23.33%) children in overweight group and nine (30%) in obese group were diagnosed with SH (normal T4 with high TSH level). Nine out of the total 16 children with SH also had dyslipidaemia. Conclusion: About 23% in overweight and 30% in obese children were found to have subclinical hypothyroidism. Nine out of these 16 children with subclinical hypothyroidism also had dyslipidaemia.