Gencer, Baris; Moutzouri, Elisavet; Blum, Manuel; Feller, Martin; Collet, Tinh-Hai; Del Giovane, Cinzia; Da Costa, Bruno R.; Buffle, Eric; Monney, Pierre; Gabus, Vincent; Müller, Hajo; Sykiotis, Gerasimos P; Kearney, Patricia; Gussekloo, Jacobijn; Westendorp, Rudi; Stott, David J; Bauer, Douglas C; Rodondi, Nicolas (2020). The Impact of Levothyroxine on Cardiac Function in Older Adults with Mild Subclinical Hypothyroidism: a Randomized Clinical Trial. American journal of medicine, 133(7), 848-856.e5. Elsevier 10.1016/j.amjmed.2020.01.018
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BACKGROUND
Subclinical hypothyroidism has been associated with heart failure, but only small trials assessed whether treatment with levothyroxine has an impact on cardiac function.
METHODS
In a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, trial nested within the TRUST trial, Swiss participants aged ≥65 years with subclinical hypothyroidism (thyroid-stimulating hormone, TSH, 4.60-19.99 mIU/L; free thyroxine level within reference range) were randomized to levothyroxine (starting dose of 50 µg daily) to achieve TSH normalization, or placebo. The primary outcomes were the left ventricular ejection fraction for systolic function, and the ratio between mitral peak velocity of early filling to early diastolic mitral annular velocity (E/e' ratio) for diastolic function. Secondary outcomes included e' lateral/septal, left atrial volume index and systolic pulmonary artery pressure.
RESULTS
185 participants (mean age 74.1 years, 47% women) underwent echocardiography at the end of the trial. After a median treatment duration of 18.4 months, the mean TSH decreased from 6.35 mIU/L to 3.55 mIU/L with levothyroxine (n=96), while it remained elevated at 5.29 mIU/L with placebo (n=89). The adjusted between-group difference was not significant for the mean left ventricular ejection fraction (62.7% vs. 62.5%, difference=0.4%, 95%CI -1.8% to 2.5%, P=0.72) and the E/e' ratio (10.6 vs. 10.1, difference 0.4, 95%CI -0.7-1.4, P=0.47). No differences were found for the secondary diastolic function parameters, nor for interaction according to sex, baseline TSH, preexisting heart failure and treatment duration (P-value >0.05).
CONCLUSION
Systolic and diastolic heart function did not differ after treatment with levothyroxine compared with placebo in older adults with mild subclinical hypothyroidism.
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