The Use Of Tiroid Drugs Can Influence Bone Density

Illustration of thyroid drug (Shutterstock)

JAKARTA - The use of thyroid drugs can provide side effects. One of them can affect bone density.

In this case, researchers in the United States have concerns about levotirocine, one of the thyroid drugs most commonly prescribed in adults there.

Levotiroxin or L-tiroxin is a synthetic version of the hormone tyroksin which is generally given to patients with less active thyroid.

People with thyroids who are less active or hypothyroidism show signs such as fatigue, increased heart rate, depression, dry skin and hair, muscle cramps, constipation, weight gain, and memory problems.

In the United States, about 23 million people consume levotiroxine, which is sold under the trademark Syntheroid, Levoxyl, Unithyroid, and Tirosint.

However, researchers from recent studies noted that many of them continued treatment for years without checking whether they still needed the drug.

Postdoctoral researcher from Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore, Maryland, Dr. Elena Ghotbi, said most thyroid hormone prescriptions may be given to older adults without hypothyroidism, raising concerns about the subsequent excess relative thyroid hormone even as treatment is targeted for reference range purposes.

Based on studies conducted, studies show that improper doses of levotiroxine, either excessive or insufficient amounts, can affect growth and development, cardiovascular function, bone metabolism, reproductive function, cognitive function, emotional state, gastrointestinal function, and glucose and lipid metabolism.

Recent studies are investigating whether the use of levotiroxine in older eutiroid adults (Those with normal thyroid function), but higher thyroid hormone levels in the normal reference range, are associated with increased bone loss over time.

For the study, the researchers evaluated bone loss over time from 81 eutiroid levotiroxyne users and compared it to 364 non-users who have similar risk factors such as age, gender, height, weight, race, treatment, smoking history, and alcohol use.

The researchers noted that even participants whose cythyroid levels of hormone stimulation (TSH) were in the normal range, the use of levotiroxine was associated with loss of bone mass and overall greater body bone density after a follow-up of about 6.3 years.

"Our study shows that even as following current guidelines, the use of levotiroxine appears to be associated with greater bone loss in older adults," said one senior author and professor of radiology at Johns Hopkins, Dr. Shadpour Demehri.