Thyroid Hormone Use May Raise Death Risk in Older Adults

A study in the Journal of the Endocrine Society associated thyroid hormone replacement therapy with a higher risk of death among older adults, reports Medical Xpress . People with too little thyroid hormone require lifelong treatment with levothyroxine to supplement thyroxine (T4), and in some cases are given modest increases of thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) to trigger thyroid hormone production. People with subclinical hypothyroidism also routinely receive thyroid hormone replacement. "Our earlier research showed that this can reflect developing hypothyroidism in some, while in others, it is a form of adaptation to age-related changes in health instead of thyroid disease," said Johns Hopkins University Professor Jennifer Mammen. "As a result, some of these older people may be receiving inappropriate or excessive thyroid hormone therapy, treatment that may counteract important adaptations needed for healthy aging." The researchers examined 1,054 participants of the Baltimore Longitudinal Study of Aging, who all had at least one TSH and T4 measurement since 2003. Levothyroxine supplementation of T4 raised the risk of death 60 percent year over year among older adults, while those receiving TSH treatment were nearly twice as likely to die as untreated persons.