Overtreating older patients with the drugs was associated with cognitive disorders, according to a new study.
Please confirm that you would like to log out of Medscape. If you log out, you will be required to enter your username and password the next time you visit.Patients age 65 and older who receive thyroid hormone therapy and experience low thyrotropin are at increased risk for dementia and other cognitive problems, according to new research published October 23 in< .001).
More than 65,000 patients were included in the study. Slightly more than half were female, almost 70% were White, 19.3% were Black, 4.6% were Asian, and 0.4% were American Indian. Almost 25,000 low TSH measurements among 2710 patients were recorded during the study period. The majority of low TSH measurements were exogenous , followed by origins of unknown cause , and endogenous .
"This is yet another reason for us to be vigilant about not overtreating people with thyroid hormone, especially in older adults," Mammen said."We already know thatTaking a cautious approach to prescribing thyroid hormone therapy for older patients is paramount, according to Jean Chen, MD, partner at Texas Diabetes & Endocrinology, who was not affiliated with the study.