A review on association between diabetes and thyroid disease

Abstract

Two endocrinopathies namely diabetes and thyroid disorders are most often encountered in general population either individually or together mutually influencing one another. Both the disorders have complex biochemical pathophysiology along with hormonal and genetic malfunctions. Thyroid hormones are important regulators of carbohydrate and lipid metabolism, pancreatic function while diabetes affects functioning of thyroid hormones to a variable extent. The main underlying basis of such link could be the interconnections between common signalling pathways among these disorders. Thyroid dysfunctions that are also associated with insulin resistance, when present in diabetic individuals can impair metabolic control. Both hyperthyroidism and hypothyroidism are reported to be associated diabetes mellitus. Researches that investigated the potentiality of thyroid hormone analogues to alleviate obesity, diabetes, and atherosclerosis are also being conducted in clinical practice. This requires a vivid knowledge of this multifarious and complex relationship between diabetes and thyroid hormone so that it can aid in optimisation of treatment modalities in diabetic patients. Thus, in this review article we emphasized on the incidence of thyroid disorders in diabetes and possible links between the two disorders. Keywords: Diabetes, Hypothyroidism, Hyperthyroidism, Euthyroid, Tri-iodothyronine, Thyroxine, Thyroid stimulating hormone.