Should Nursing Home Residents be Screened for Thyroid Function?

ABSTRACT

Purpose: Thyroid dysfunctions, especially subclinical forms, which are more frequently seen in older populations, have been linked to increased morbidity and mortality. In the literature, there are few reports of thyroid functions among nursing home residents. Our aim was to investigate whether nursing home residents constitute a priority group for the evaluation of thyroid function.
Material and Method: Hundred and ninety-two participants were enrolled in the study, 108 of them were nursing home participant (NP) and 84 were dwelling participants (CP). All of the participants were evaluated in terms of thyroid functions and thyroid ultrasonography.
Results: In the NP group, 89.8% were euthyroid, 3.7% were found to have subclinical hypothyroidism, 0.9% had overt hypothyroidism, 4.6% had subclinical hyperthyroidism, and 0.9% had overt hyperthyroidism. The corresponding rates in CP group were 83.3%, 9.5%, 0.0%, 7.1%, and 0.0%, respectively. At least one thyroid nodule was present in 64.2% and 78.3% of subjects of NP and CP groups, respectively.
Discussion: There was no statistical difference between the two groups in terms of distribution of thyroid dysfunction and thyroid nodules. According to our results, living in nursing home has not any important effect on thyroid dysfunction or nodule.