Investigating the Effect of Thyroid Hormones on Diabetic Nephropathy in Type 2 Diabetic Patients Referred to Ahvaz Hospitals in 2017

 Nephropathy is one of the most common microvascular complications of diabetes. Type 2 diabetic patients with subclinical hypothyroidism are associated with a high prevalence of diabetic nephropathy.

 This study aims to investigate the effect of thyroid hormones on diabetic nephropathy in type 2 diabetic patients referred to Ahvaz hospitals in 2017.

 In this case-control study, 200 diabetic patients (100 with nephropathy and 100 without nephropathy) referred to Ahvaz hospitals were randomly selected. After sampling, biochemical parameters such as fasting blood sugar, BUN, creatinine, uric acid, calcium, and phosphorus were measured. Then, thyroid hormones and thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) hormones were measured by the quantitative luminescence method.

 Thyroid hormones in the patient group were lower than in the control group (P < 0.001). The concentration of TSH in the patient group was higher than in the control group (P < 0.001). Thyroid hormones were negatively and significantly related, and TSH hormone was positively and significantly related to kidney assessment markers. Other results showed that increased TSH and decreased thyroid hormones could increase the risk of developing diabetic nephropathy. So that the T3 hormone was associated with diabetic nephropathy with a greater effect (0.000002 - 0.001057) (CI) = 0.000048 = Odds ratio T3 hormone at 0.73 ng/mL levels has a diagnostic value with a sensitivity of 83% and the specificity was 84% for the differentiation of nephropathy in diabetic patients.

 The results of this study showed that an increase in TSH hormone and a decrease in thyroid hormones could increase the chance of developing diabetic nephropathy. The T3 hormone is more effective with diabetic nephropathy, and with high diagnostic value, it can be suggested as a biomarker for predicting nephropathy in diabetic patients.