Objectives: The present study was undertaken with an objective to explore if thyroid is related to dementia among
participants aged 45 years and above.
Design: Participants aged more than 45 years of age, giving written informed consent and meeting the selection criteria were enrolled in the
study. The participants were administered with a series of paper pencil tests. The data was further analyzed for any association using the
Statistical Package for Social Sciences, version 22 (SPSS 22).
Setting: Participants attending the Outpatient Department (OPD) at Institute of Human Behaviour and Allied sciences (IHBAS), a tertiary care
neuropsychiatric hospital and normal elderly controls from local community.
Participants: A sample size of at least 40 cases of Dementia of Alzheimer type and at least 40 cases of vascular/ mixed dementia and 60 normal
controls were recruited.
Measurements: Semi-structured Performa for demographic and clinical variables; Hindi mental status examination (HMSE) for cognitive
functions was applied as screening tools for both case and control groups;Tools for patients with dementia: NINCDS-ADRDA criteria for
Probable Alzheimer's disease (McKhann et al), NINDS /AIREN criteria for diagnosis of probable vascular dementia (VaD), NINDS-AIREN
diagnostic criteria for “Alzheimer's disease with Cerebro-Vascular Disease” (mixed dementia), Clinical Dementia Rating Scale (Morris et al
1997), and 5 ml blood sample collection and analysis through vein puncture.
Results: The results of the study indicate that subclinical hypothyroidism is associated with dementia of Alzheimer type.
Conclusion: When considered in light with varied ndings of prior studies, it may be implied that subclinical thyroid dysfunction not especially
hypo or hyperthyroidism is a risk for DAT.