Assessment of thyroid gland functions and hypogonadism among male patients with COPD

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is no longer considered to affect only the lungs and airways but also the rest of the body. The systemic manifestations of COPD include a number of endocrine disorders, such as those involving the pituitary, the thyroid, the gonads, the adrenals and the pancreas. Aim of the work: The aim of this work was to assess thyroid gland functions and hypogonadism among male patients with COPD and its relation to diseases severity. Patients and methods: The study included 60 male patients diagnosed as COPD were selected and classified according to the Egyptian society for chest diseases and tuberculosis (ESCT) into three groups (mild, moderate and sever COPD) where cases and their age matched controls were evaluated as regard thyroid, gonadotrophins and androgen levels (TSH, FT3, FT4, FSH, LH, DHEAS-S, testosterone total and free were measured). Results: When we made comparison between patients with different grades of COPD as regard thyroid, gonadotrophins and androgen levels we found statistical difference between mild versus moderate and mild versus severe COPD as regard FT3 and mild versus moderate and severe COPD as regard DAHEAS-S and testosterone. And, the study showed that's there were statistical difference as regard free testosterone among patients with COPD, but there was high statistical significant difference as regard DHEAS-S and testosterone. Conclusion: After assessment of thyroid gland functions and hypogonadism among male patients with COPD, we found hypogonadism increases with age and the degree of severity of COPD. (C) 2013 Production and hosting by Elsevier B.V. on behalf of The Egyptian Society of Chest Diseases and Tuberculosis.