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Guidelines recommend screening for thyroid dysfunction in people with cognitive dysfunction and dementia (Neurology 2001; 56:1143); however, the associations between subclinical and overt thyroid dysfunction and cognitive dysfunction are unclear. In this meta-analysis, researchers used individual participant data from 23 cohort studies to evaluate these associations.
Thyroid function was determined biochemically by measuring thyroid-stimulating hormone and free thyroxine levels. Of 75,000 participants (baseline age, 57–93), 89% had normal thyroid function, 1% had overt hyperthyroidism, 3% had subclinical hyperthyroidism, 6% had subclinical hypothyroidism, and 1% had overt hypothyroidism. Median follow-up ranged from 1.7 years to 15.3 years. …