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Subclinical hypothyroidism — above-normal level of thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) but normal free thyroxine (T4) — becomes more common with age. To examine how often subclinical hypothyroidism normalizes spontaneously in untreated older adults, European researchers studied two cohorts of older patients (age, ≥65). The upper limit of normal for TSH was 4.6 mIU/L.
Findings were as follows:
One cohort included 2335 patients with one instance of subclinical hypothyroidism (median TSH, 5.4). On repeat testing about 1 year later, TSH had normalized spontaneously in 61% of patients.
A second cohort included 361 patients with two instances of subclinical hypothyroidism separated by about 1 year (median TSH, 5.75). On a third round of testing 1 year…