Quality of life is not related to current thyroid status in patients treated for hyperthyroidism more than 10 years ago
(July 2007)
The background of the study. Some patients with hyperthyroidism caused by Graves’ disease do not feel well long after antithyroid therapy. In this study, quality of life was assessed in patients who had been treated for hyperthyroidism in relation to their current thyroid function.
How the study was done. The study subjects were 91 patients with Graves’ hyperthyroidism who had been treated with methimazole, radioactive iodine (I-131), or surgery 14 to 21 years earlier (average, 18 years). Each patient completed the Short Form-36, a quality-of-life questionnaire that has physical and mental subscores.
The results of the study. The clinical status and serum TSH and free thyroxine (T4) values in the treatment groups were similar. The mean scores and subscores of the Short Form-36 questionnaire were similar in each group, and did not vary according to the serum TSH concentrations within each group. The two scores also were similar in the 82 percent of patients who were taking T4 and in the 18 percent who were not.
Overall, 48 percent of the patients had normal serum TSH concentrations, 47 percent low concentrations indicative of over treatment with T4, and 5 percent high concentrations indicative of hypothyroidism. The Short Form-36 scores in these subgroups were similar to those in normal subjects.
The conclusions of the study. Quality of life is not diminished in patients who were treated for Graves’ hyperthyroidism more than 10 years ago.
The original article. Abraham-Nordling M, Wallin G, Lundell G, Torring O. Thyroid hormone state and quality of life at long-term follow-up after randomized trial of Graves’ disease. Eur J Endocrinol 2007;156:173-9.
| 
