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Reference values of thyroid hormones and TSH in adult individuals from Maracaibo, Venezuela

Abstract:

Introduction: Currently there is no consensus regarding reference values for thyroid hormone profile. The purpose of this study was to determine the references values of TSH, Free T3 and Free T4 in adults from the Maracaibo Municipality, Zulia State. Materials and Methods: the Maracaibo city Metabolic Syndrome Prevalence Study is a cross-sectional study which enrolled 2.230 individuals of both sexes over 18 years of age, out of which 425 were selected due to medical history and availability of thyroid function quantification. The reference population subsample was obtained (n=266) by excluding those with personal and family history of thyroid disease, positive anti-thyroid antibodies, cardiovascular or autoimmune diseases, diabetes mellitus and medication usage. Results: the references values for TSH, FT3 and FT4 are between 2.5th and 97.5 th to establish an upper and lower limit respectively: TSH 0.70-5.52 mIU/L, FT3 1.80-4.40 pg/ mL, FT4 0.80-1.80 ng/dL. Conclusions: the reference values obtained for our population differ from previous reports from other countries, strengthening the notion that each populace needs their own threshold values, facilitating a proper and efficient diagnosis tool to detect thyroid abnormalities.