Hypothyroidism not associated with worse prognosis in COVID-19

Patients with hypothyroidism who develop COVID-19 have a lower mechanical ventilation requirement and are less likely to die in the hospital, as reported in a study.

The present analysis was a part of a multicentric cohort of patients with confirmed COVID-19 diagnosis from 37 hospitals. A total of 526 patients with previous hypothyroidism history and 526 matched controls were included. The median age of the overall population was 70 years, with a female predominance at 68.3 percent.

Majority of the population (85.8 percent) had at least one comorbidity, with the most common being hypertension (72 percent), diabetes mellitus (38.8 percent), obesity (18.9 percent), and heart failure (11.2 percent). There was no significant difference in the prevalence of comorbidities and unhealthy habits between patients and controls, apart from a higher prevalence of coronary disease (9.7 percent vs 5.7 percent; p=0.015) and chronic kidney disease (9.9 percent vs 4.8 percent; p=0.001) in the hypothyroidism group.

Hypothyroid patients had lower D-dimer levels (p=0.037). While in-hospital management was similar, hospital length-of-stay (p=0.029) and mechanical ventilation requirement (p=0.006) were lower in the hypothyroidism vs control group.

Furthermore, there was a trend of lower in-hospital mortality in the hypothyroidism group (22.1 percent vs 27.0 percent; p=0.062).

The findings indicate that hypothyroidism should not be considered among the comorbidities that represent a risk factor for COVID-19 severity.