Clinical study of skin manifestations of hypothyroidism at a tertiary hospital in North Kerala

Authors

  • Srirath Madappally Kambil Department of Dermatology, Kannur Medical College, Anjarakandy, Kannur, Kerala, India

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.18203/issn.2455-4529.IntJResDermatol20182018

Keywords:

Hypothyroidism, Skin, Hair, Nails

Abstract

Background: The effect of thyroid function on skin is very complex. Skin, hair and nail changes are not infrequent in hypothyroidism. There are only a few studies on the effect of hypothyroidism on skin in North Kerala.

Methods: 100 patients with hypothyroidism attending the outpatient departments of Dermatology and General Medicine were evaluated. The study was conducted at Kannur Medical College, Anjarakandy from September 2016 to August 2017. The various changes in skin, hair and nails are recorded in the study.

Results: Hypothyroidism was much more common in females and manly affected the 21-40 years age group. The common skin changes seen were xerosis, myxoedema and keratoderma. Hair loss, brittle nails and onycholysis were the main hair and nail manifestations. The conditions commonly associated with hypothyroidism were melasma, urticaria, alopecia areata and vitiligo.

Conclusions: Thyroid and skin are closely related and so any abnormality in the functioning of thyroid commonly reflects on the skin, hair and nails. Proper knowledge about the various skin manifestations helps in avoiding the various systemic complications of hypothyroidism by arriving at an early diagnosis.

Metrics

Metrics Loading ...

References

Dogra A, Dua A, Singh P. Thyroid and skin. Indian J Dermatol. 2006;51:96-9.

Srujana B, Reddy BN, Prasad GK. Clinical spectrum of cutaneous manifestations of thyroid disorders in patients attending MediCiti Institute of Medical Sciences. Indian J Clin Experimental Dermatol. 2016;2(4):146-52.

Nicely Philip, Banavasi S Girisha, Tonita M Noronha, Akshata C Alva, Carol Christy. Cutaneous manifestations of hashimoto’s thyroiditis: a cross-sectional study. Int J Contemporary Med Res. 2016;3(10):2910-4.

Haritha S, Sampath K. Skin manifestations of hypothyroidism – A clinical study. IOSR-JDMS. 2013;7:58-60.

Keen MA, Hassan I, Bhat MH. A Clinical Study of the Cutaneous Manifestations of Hypothyroidism in Kashmir Valley. Indian J Dermatol. 2013;58(4):326

Kumar D, Aslami AN. Evaluation of general and cutaneous manifestations of hypothyroidism: a single center experience in Odisha. Int J Res Dermatol. 2016;2:64-8.

Razi A, Golforoushan F, Nejad A, Goldust M. Evaluation of dermal symptoms in hypothyroidism and hyperthyroidism. Pak J Biol Sci. 2013;16:541-4.

Downloads

Published

2018-07-24

Issue

Section

Original Research Articles