.gif "IP Gear")
- Joined
- Jan 10, 2020
- Messages
- 214
High Cholesterol and Hypothyroidism Connection
LDL particles exit your bloodstream through your liver, a process that requires thyroid hormone, says Elizabeth A. McAninch, MD, an assistant professor in endocrinology, diabetes, and metabolism at Rush University in Chicago. If a person has low thyroid hormone levels, or hypothyroidism, it can cause elevated LDL cholesterol levels, she says.
Cholesterol levels are measured through a simple blood test. Ideally, your LDL levels should be less than 100 milligrams per deciliter (mg/dL), according to the Cleveland Clinic; 160 mg/dL or more is considered high. Lipid guidelines from the American College of Cardiology and AHA recommend that people with elevated cholesterol levels be screened for secondary causes, including hypothyroidism, which should be treated, if applicable.
Not only are elevated LDL levels associated with an increased risk of heart attack and stroke, but high cholesterol may also be associated with neurodegenerative disease, such as Alzheimerss, says Dr. McAninch.
Untreated hypothyroidism has been shown to be associated with increased cardiovascular mortality and morbidity, she says. That’s one of the reasons that the American Thyroid Association (ATA) guidelines recommend treating patients with overt hypothyroidism.
Treating hypothyroidism with thyroid hormone may help to lower cholesterol levels, according to the ATA. But it?s possible that standard treatment alone isn’t quite enough to keep all systems running normally. A research review and meta-analysis by McAninch and her colleagues published in the August 2018 issue of The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism showed that LDL and total cholesterol levels were not fully restored even in people with supposedly adequate treatment of their hypothyroidism. Specifically, LDL and total cholesterol remained higher in people with hypothyroidism who were taking levothyroxine at doses to achieve normal serum thyroid-stimulating hormone levels, she said.
How does the thyroid cause cholesterol problems?
Your body needs thyroid hormones to make cholesterol and to get rid of the cholesterol it doesn’t need. When thyroid hormone levels are low (hypothyroidism), your body doesn’t break down and remove LDL cholesterol as efficiently as usual. LDL cholesterol can then build up in your blood.
Thyroid hormone levels don’t have to be very low to increase cholesterol. Even people with mildly low thyroid levels, called subclinical hypothyroidism, can have higher than normal LDL cholesterol. A 2012 study found that high TSH levels alone can directly raise cholesterol levels, even if thyroid hormone levels aren’t low.
LDL particles exit your bloodstream through your liver, a process that requires thyroid hormone, says Elizabeth A. McAninch, MD, an assistant professor in endocrinology, diabetes, and metabolism at Rush University in Chicago. If a person has low thyroid hormone levels, or hypothyroidism, it can cause elevated LDL cholesterol levels, she says.
Cholesterol levels are measured through a simple blood test. Ideally, your LDL levels should be less than 100 milligrams per deciliter (mg/dL), according to the Cleveland Clinic; 160 mg/dL or more is considered high. Lipid guidelines from the American College of Cardiology and AHA recommend that people with elevated cholesterol levels be screened for secondary causes, including hypothyroidism, which should be treated, if applicable.
Not only are elevated LDL levels associated with an increased risk of heart attack and stroke, but high cholesterol may also be associated with neurodegenerative disease, such as Alzheimerss, says Dr. McAninch.
Untreated hypothyroidism has been shown to be associated with increased cardiovascular mortality and morbidity, she says. That’s one of the reasons that the American Thyroid Association (ATA) guidelines recommend treating patients with overt hypothyroidism.
Treating hypothyroidism with thyroid hormone may help to lower cholesterol levels, according to the ATA. But it?s possible that standard treatment alone isn’t quite enough to keep all systems running normally. A research review and meta-analysis by McAninch and her colleagues published in the August 2018 issue of The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism showed that LDL and total cholesterol levels were not fully restored even in people with supposedly adequate treatment of their hypothyroidism. Specifically, LDL and total cholesterol remained higher in people with hypothyroidism who were taking levothyroxine at doses to achieve normal serum thyroid-stimulating hormone levels, she said.
How does the thyroid cause cholesterol problems?
Your body needs thyroid hormones to make cholesterol and to get rid of the cholesterol it doesn’t need. When thyroid hormone levels are low (hypothyroidism), your body doesn’t break down and remove LDL cholesterol as efficiently as usual. LDL cholesterol can then build up in your blood.
Thyroid hormone levels don’t have to be very low to increase cholesterol. Even people with mildly low thyroid levels, called subclinical hypothyroidism, can have higher than normal LDL cholesterol. A 2012 study found that high TSH levels alone can directly raise cholesterol levels, even if thyroid hormone levels aren’t low.
