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Article Type

Article

Abstract

Background: Subclinical hypothyroidism (SCH) is increasingly prevalent in India, particularly among women (2–15%). Unlike overt hypothyroidism, the lipid abnormalities in SCH are often subtle and may remain undetected, contributing to increased cardiovascular risk. Composite atherogenic indices—Atherogenic Index of Plasma (AIP), Castelli Risk Index I (CRI-I), Castelli Risk Index II (CRI-II), and Atherogenic Coefficient (AC)—combine lipid parameters and may offer better early risk assessment than isolated lipid values.This study was done to compare atherogenic indices between women with SCH and euthyroid women, and to assess their correlation with thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) levels. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted at Government Medical College, Trivandrum (November 2024–May 2025) among 72 women aged ≥ 18 years attending Medicine outpatient or inpatient departments. Leftover serum samples were analysed for lipid profile and thyroid parameters using the Beckman Coulter AU 680 analyser. SCH was defined as TSH >4.5 μIU/mL with normal free thyroxine (FT4). Atherogenic indices were calculated using standard formulas. Independent t-test, Pearson's correlation, and multivariate regression (adjusted for age and body mass index) were applied. Results: Women with SCH showed significantly higher LDL-C, triglycerides, VLDL-C, lower HDL-C, and elevated atherogenic indices (all p<0.001). TSH demonstrated strong positive correlations with all indices in the SCH group (r=0.516–0.599; p≤ 0.001), but not in euthyroid controls. Conclusion: SCH is associated with a pro-atherogenic lipid pattern. Atherogenic indices are simple, cost-effective markers for early cardiovascular risk assessment in women with SCH.

Keywords

Subclinical hypothyroidism, Thyroid-stimulating hormone, Atherogenic index of plasma, Castelli risk index, Dyslipidaemia

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

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