Hypothyrodisim Doesn’t Worsen COVID-19

27/11/2021

Key Takeaways

Hypothyroidism was not associated with a worse prognosis among patients with COVID-19.
Among patients with COVID-19, those with underlying hypothyroidism were significantly less likely to require mechanical ventilation, and hospital mortality tended to be less compared with patients with normal thyroid function.
Patients with COVID-19 and hypothyroidism had similar comorbidities, clinical presentations, and laboratory values compared with patients without hypothyroidism.

Why This Matters

This study has the largest sample of patients with COVID-19 and hypothyroidism to date.
The findings suggest that underlying hypothyroidism does not lead to worse outcomes in patients with COVID-19.

Study Design

Data were collected by the Brazilian COVID-19 Registry, which includes 37 hospitals, from 7762 patients with a confirmed diagnosis of COVID-19 during March 1 to September 30, 2020.
Of these patients, 526 had a clinical history of previously diagnosed hypothyroidism and were receiving levothyroxine replacement therapy at 31 of the participating hospitals in 15 Brazilian cities.
The researchers matched these case patients with 526 control patients who had had COVID-19 and did not have a history of hypothyroidism.

Key Results

Patients in the two study arms were closely matched with respect to many factors, including demographics, vital signs, comorbidities, laboratory values, and hospitalization course.
Mechanical ventilation was needed by 25% of patients with hypothyroidism and by 33% of those without hypothyroidism (P = .006).
In-hospital mortality occurred in 22% of those with hypothyroidism and in 27% of those without hypothyroidism (P = .062).
Average length of hospitalization was 8 days among those with hypothyroidism and 9 days among those without hypothyroidism (P = .029).

Limitations

The study was limited by the size of the enrolled population and the number of events they experienced.
The study was retrospective and was limited to data extracted from chart reviews.
Thyroid status depended on patient-supplied information at the time of hospital admission.
The patients’ levels of thyroid stimulating hormone and thyroid hormone were not evaluated during hospitalization.

Disclosures

The study received funding from several Brazilian governmental agencies.
The authors have disclosed no relevant financial relationships.

This is a summary of a preprint of a research article written by corresponding author Milena Soriano Marcolino, MD, PhD, from the University Hospital of the Federal University of Minas Gerais, in Belo Horizonte, Brazil, and co-authors published on MedRxiv. This study has not yet been peer reviewed. The full text of the study can be found on MedRxiv.org .

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