Abstract

Objective: This study aimed to evaluate the relationship between thyroid hormone levels and blood ferritin and vitamin B12 in individuals with thyroid illness in the Qassim region of Saudi Arabia.
Methods: A retrospective study was conducted on 323 adult patients with thyroid diseases. Data about patients’ demographics, chronic diseases, hematological parameters, and thyroid hormone profiles (vitamin B12, ferritin, and thyroid function test results) were collected.
Results: A total of 54.5% of patients were ≤40 years, 78.6% were females, 6.5% had chronic diseases, 10.2% had hyperthyroidism, and 89.8% had hypothyroidism. A significant positive correlation was found between hemoglobin level with serum tri-iodothyronine (T3) and serum thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) level, serum ferritin level with serum TSH and vitamin B12 level, and vitamin B12 level with serum thyroxine (T4) level. Anemia prevalence was 31.9% which was significantly higher among females and those not suffering from other chronic diseases. Anemic patients had a significantly lower mean hematocrit, hemoglobin, mean corpuscular hemoglobin, mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration, mean corpuscular volume, red blood cell count, serum ferritin, and serum T3, and a significantly higher mean value of red cell distribution width. Multivariate logistic regression analysis found that being a female, having other chronic diseases were risk factors of anemia.
Conclusion: Chronic thyroid nutritional deficits might still affect a patient’s health, especially when it comes to iron and vitamin B12. Therapeutic results might be improved by incorporating dietary assessment and management into standard therapy.

Key words: Ferritin, vitamin B12, thyroid disease, Qassim, Saudi Arabia.