Purpose: In recent years, Hashimoto's thyroiditis (HT) has become one of the commonest autoimmune diseases. Its clinical symptoms include systemic manifestations related mainly, but not solely, to thyroid hormone deficiency. The bioimpedance phase angle (PhA) is a reliable indicator of nutritional as well as cellular health status. PhA is decreased not only in malnutrition, but also in many inflammatory diseases. The aim of this study was to assess the relationship between HT and PhA score.
Methods: In this cross-sectional study, we compared the anthropometric, laboratory and body composition parameters of 49 women with HT and 98 propensity-score-matched women without thyroid disease.
Results: Females with HT had significantly lower PhA scores (5.78 ± 0.43) compared to women without a thyroid disorder (5.98 ± 0.49, p = 0.017). Regarding TSH levels, although they were within the normal range in all study participants, in women with HT, they were slightly but significantly higher. Women with HT treated with L-thyroxin had significantly higher PhA compared to their non-treated counterparts. No differences between women with non-HT hypothyroidism and the control group were found.
Conclusions: Decreased PhA scores in patients with HT may indicate that the inflammatory process in this autoimmune disease has an influence on cellular health and on the function of the entire body. Such an association was not found in women with non-HT hypothyroidism.
Keywords: Hashimoto’s thyroiditis; bioimpedance analysis; hypothyroidism; inflammation; phase angle.