Investigating the Predictive Value of Thyroid Hormone Levels for Stroke Prognosis

Neurol Int. 2023 Aug 2;15(3):926-953. doi: 10.3390/neurolint15030060.

Abstract

Given the expansion of life expectancy, the aging of the population, and the anticipated rise in the number of stroke survivors in Europe with severe neurological consequences in the coming decades, stroke is becoming the most prevalent cause of functional disability. Therefore, the prognosis for a stroke must be timely and precise. Two databases (MEDLINE and Scopus) were searched to identify all relevant studies published between 1 January 2005 and 31 December 2022 that investigated the relationship between thyroid hormone levels and acute stroke severity, mortality, and post-hospital prognosis. Only full-text English-language articles were included. This review includes Thirty articles that were traced and incorporated into the present review. Emerging data regarding the potential predictive value of thyroid hormone levels suggests there may be a correlation between low T3 syndrome, subclinical hypothyroidism, and poor stroke outcome, especially in certain age groups. These findings may prove useful for rehabilitation and therapy planning in clinical practice. Serum thyroid hormone concentration measurement is a non-invasive, relatively harmless, and secure screening test that may be useful for this purpose.

Keywords: T4; TSH; blood biomarkers; fT3; fT4; hyperthyroidism; hypothyroidism; low-T3-syndrome; prognosis; stroke; thyroid hormones.

Publication types

  • Review

Grants and funding

This work was supported by the project “Study of the Interrelationships Between Neuroimaging, Neurophysiological, and Biomechanical Biomarkers in Stroke Rehabilitation (NEURO-BIOMECH in Stroke Rehab)” (MIS 5047286), which is implemented under the action of “Support for Regional Excellence”, funded by the operational program “Competitiveness, Entrepreneurship, and Innovation” (NSRFm2014-2020) and co-financed by Greece and the European Union (the European Regional Development Fund).