This site is intended for healthcare professionals

Sign in
Go to /sign-in page

You can view 5 more pages before signing in

Lipids and thyroid disease

Authoring team

Hypothyroidism:

  • serum LDL cholesterol is raised; more rarely triglycerides are also raised
    • LDL catabolism is reduced
    • lipoprotein lipase activity and triglyceride catabolism may be reduced
  • HDL may be increased - this is because of a reduced rate of transfer of cholesteroyl ester from HDL to other lipoproteins
  • biliary excretion of cholesterol is reduced

Adequate thyroxine replacement reverses these effects.

Subclinical hypothyroidism:

  • probably causes a slight increase in LDL cholesterol

Hyperthyroidism:

  • generally results in reduced LDL and HDL
  • increased triglycerides may occur

Reference

  1. Rizos C et al. Effects of Thyroid Dysfunction on Lipid Profile. Open Cardiovasc Med J. 2011; 5: 76–84.

 

Related pages

Create an account to add page annotations

Create a free account

Annotations allow you to add information to this page that would be handy to have on hand during a consultation. E.g. a website or number. This information will always show when you visit this page.

The content herein is provided for informational purposes and does not replace the need to apply professional clinical judgement when diagnosing or treating any medical condition. A licensed medical practitioner should be consulted for diagnosis and treatment of any and all medical conditions.

Connect

Copyright 2024 Oxbridge Solutions Limited, a subsidiary of OmniaMed Communications Limited. All rights reserved. Any distribution or duplication of the information contained herein is strictly prohibited. Oxbridge Solutions receives funding from advertising but maintains editorial independence.