Comparative evaluation of hyperfunction of thyroid gland in women with other thyroid disfunctions: Central Bosnia and Herzegovina experience
The incidence of thyroid dysfunction in the area of central Bosnia with special reference to hyperthyroidism was being monitored. Considering that there were disagreements among earlier authors and even their contradictory results, the goal was to determine the percentage ratio between the thyroid hyperfunction and other dysfunctions and to identify the degree of correlation between thyroid hormones and the age structure of women. The study included 76 women aged 20 to 82 years with increased values of thyroid hormones and 49 women with reduced values of thyroid hormones. Thirty female patients with baseline thyroid hormone levels comprised a control group. Hyperthyroidism was observed in 60.8 % of women, with the highest percentage of getting ill in their fourth and fifth decade of life (64 %). The monitoring of TSH, FT4 and FT3 hormone values in thyroid dysfunction compared to women with thyroid gland hormone reference values by age groups showed that there was a statistically significant difference in the age group between 40 and 59 years (p < 0.05). For the age group of 60 years and older, there was no significant difference (p > 0.05). The TSH hormone value and the age of women are positively correlated and mutually dependent (p < 0.05). The observed reduction in the thyroid hormone values with an increase in women’s age can be considered an adaptation of the organism to the reduced need for energy and represents an important metabolic parameter of the biological process of aging.