The lack of association between hypertension and hypothyroidism in a primary care setting

This work examines the association between hypertension and hypothyroidism in geriatric patients seen at a primary care medical office, One hundred an d twenty-two geriatric patients with elevated thyroid stimulating hormone ( TSH) levels were selected for the study. An equal number of euthyroid geria tric individuals were selected from the same clinic for comparison. We foun d no differences in mean diastolic blood pressure (DBP) in the euthyroid an d hypothyroid groups (80.1 mm Hg vs 78.9 mm Hg, P = 0.25), Additionally, th ere was. no significant association between having hypertension (defined as having an elevated DBP or receiving treatment for hypertension at the time of the index visit) and level of TSH (P = 0.33). Logistic regression did s how that race, gender, body mass index and renal function were significantl y associated with the presence of hypertension. Lastly, there was not a sig nificant association between lever of TSH and DBP as determined by regressi on (P = 0.97). In conclusion, in this population of geriatric patients we d id not find hypertension to be associated with the presence of hypothyroidi sm.