
Can abnormal thyroid function affect the course of diabetes?
There are a lot of connections between thyroid and blood sugar control, such as metabolic rate and mitochondrial function.
There is also a strong indication – according to a study published earlier this month by The Endocrine Society – that the thyroid hormone T3 controls and regulates the release of insulin, suggesting that low thyroid function could raise the risk of developing type 2 diabetes, especially in people with prediabetes.
The study, involving nearly 8.500 people, has found that among participants presenting a mild elevation in blood glucose, those with hypothyroidism or even low-normal thyroid function had a 13 per cent higher chance of developing type 2 diabetes and that risk rose up to 40 per cent for people with prediabetes.
A 2003 study also found thyroid disorder to be more common in diabetic females than males.
In this new study, 1,100 participants ended up developing prediabetes while 798 developed type 2 diabetes over the course of an average follow-up lasting nearly eight years.
We have known for years that undiagnosed thyroid disease leads to type 2 diabetes. Yet so few physicians ever test patients with prediabetes or slightly high blood sugars for thyroid disease.
For the lead investigator of the study and MD of the Erasmus Medical Center in Rotterdam, Layal Chaker, these findings indicate that screening people with prediabetes for low thyroid function should be systematic.
Most experts currently recommend thyroid screening only for people with type 1 diabetes, as they have a greatly increased risk of thyroid disease.
Yet balanced thyroid hormon
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