Skip to content
Research Article Open access CC BY 4.0

Evaluation of Thyroid Function of HIV Patients in Umunze, Anambra State, Nigeria

F. U. Ukodei, N. K. Nnamah, A. J. Onuegbu, I. C. Nwako, A. C. Ihim, J. C. Nnamdi, N.J. Nnodiogu, L.U. Ugwu, B. Ekeh

Asian Journal of Medicine and Health · pp. 27–35 · Published 16 Sep 2023

10.9734/ajmah/2023/v21i11916

Abstract

Background: Abnormal thyroid function tests have been detected at various phases in people living with Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and the effect of highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) not well understood. However, there is insufficient study among Nigerians living with HIV. Objective: This study is aimed to determine thyroid hormones in HIV positive individuals compared with HIV negative individuals in Umunze, Anambra State, Nigeria. Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study was carried out over a period of six months among 95 HIV positive and 30 HIV negative individuals attending USAID/FHI clinic of Immaculate Heart Hospital in Umunze, Nigeria. The subjects were divided into three groups on the basis of HAART (those on HAART [48] – GROUP 1, HAART naïve [47] – GROUP 2 and Control [30] – GROUP 3). The subjects were interviewed, examined and blood sample collected for determination of thyroid function parameters which include thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH), free triiodothyronine (fT3), triiodothyronine (T3), free thyroxine (fT4), and thyroxine (T4). Results: Among the 125 subjects recruited for the study 67.2% were females and 32.8% males. The mean levels of TSH and fT3 was found to be higher in group 1 subjects than in group 2 and the group 3 subjects. The mean level of T4 was significantly higher in group 2 subjects than group 1 and the group 3 subjects. The level of T3 was significantly lower in control subjects in comparison to both HAART and non-HAART subjects. Primary hypothyroidism is the commonest pattern of thyroid dysfunction among the HIV positive patients followed by isolated low fT4. Conclusion: Serum levels of thyroid hormones as shown in this study may be used as baseline periodic markers during antiretroviral therapy while people living with HIV may benefit from supplementation if appropriate. There is also need for a larger study to identify the risk factors for progression to overt thyroid disease in HIV infected subjects with thyroid autoimmunity.

HIV infection HAART thyroid hormones Hypothyroidism Umunze Nigeria

References (13)

  1. 1 Practical Issues in Calculating the Sample Size for Prevalence Studies
  2. 2 Estrogen, cytokines, and pathogenesis of postmenopausal osteoporosis [DOI]
  3. 3 Thyroid Function Abnormalities in HIV-Infected Patients [DOI]
  4. 4 Prevalence and Influencing Factors of Thyroid Dysfunction in HIV-Infected Patients [DOI]
  5. 5 Prevalence of Endocrine Dysfunction in HIV-Infected Men [DOI]
  6. 6 Thyroid function in newly diagnosed HIV-infected patients [DOI]
  7. 7 Beneficial impact of antiretroviral therapy on non-AIDS mortality [DOI]
  8. 8 Prevalence of Thyroid Dysfunction in Thai HIV-Infected Patients [DOI]
  9. 9 Study of thyroid profile in seropositive HIV adults patients on HAART regimen [DOI]
  10. 10 Prevalence and determinants of glucose intolerance among HIV/AIDS patients in north-central Nigeria.
  11. 11 THYROID FUNCTION TESTS IN NIGERIAN HIV SERO- POSITIVE PATIENTS ON HIGHLY ACTIVE ANTIRETROVIRAL THERAPY (HAART) [DOI]
  12. 12 Thyroid dysfunction in HIV
  13. 13 Thyroid Disorders and Autoimmunity among Patients with HIV/AIDS in Northern Nigeria

Cited by 1

Thyroid Function Test Abnormalities in Human Immunodeficiency Virus Positive Patients on Antiretroviral Therapy at Matyazo Health Center, Huye, Rwanda

Emile Tuyishimire, Jean Aime Ngirinshuti, H. Mapira · Rwanda Journal of Medicine and Health Sciences · 2025

Related research

Article metrics

Real usage data collected on this platform.

52

Page views

0

PDF downloads

21

Outbound clicks

1

Citations

Views over time

Views by country

Approximate, from request IP at view time — not citizenship or institution. Countries with fewer than 5 views are grouped as "Other".

Traffic sources

Referring site, by host.

Views and downloads exclude known bots/crawlers. Citations combines this platform's own DOI-resolved index with each external source's own reported total — see Cited by above for individually listed citing works. Last refreshed 0 seconds ago.