Authors: Philomene Keunmoe, Marie Patrice Halle, Jules Clement Nguedia Assob, Abdel Jelil Njouendou, John Fonyuy Tengen, Marcelin Ngowe Ngowe.
Background: Thyroid dysfunction has been associated with kidney function decline. Biochemical markers of thyroid dysfunction that correlate with stages of chronic kidney disease (CKD) in sub-Saharan Africa are not well known. We therefore decided to determine the correlation between biomarkers of thyroid dysfunction and CKD in Cameroon.
Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted in two health facilities involving patients (≥ 18 years old) diagnosed with CKD. A questionnaire was used to collect socio-demographic and clinical data from the participants and their medical records. Thyroid hormone profile and Serum creatinine levels were analyzed. Urine albumin creatinine ratio (ACR) was estimated. CKD was deï¬ned as eGFR<60 ml/min/1.73 m2 or urinary ACR ≥ 30mg/g.
Results: Out of the 366 patients, 233 (63.66%) were male and the mean age was 55.85 (± 13.72) years. The mean TT3, FT3 and FT4 were found to decrease as the CKD stages increase. The prevalence of thyroid dysfunction was 57%. There was a significant correlation between thyroid hormone profile (TT4, TT3, FT4, FT3) and stages of CKD (Spearman’s rho = -0.173, -0.229, -0.166, -0.45 respectively; p <0.05). These observations were supported by the positive correlation observed between thyroid hormone profile (FT4, FT3, TT3) and the estimated glomerular filtration rate (Pearson’s correlation: r = 0.425, 0.188, 0.285, 0.003 respectively; p <0.05). No correlation was found between TSH level and stages of CKD.
Conclusion: There exist significant correlations between biomarkers of thyroid dysfunction and stages of Chronic Kidney Diseases in the Cameroonian population.
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