The impact of age and body mass index on quality of life in patients with primary hypothyroidism: results of a cross-sectional study

Ryzhkova E.G., Shikunova E.D., Morgunova T.B., Ryzhkov I.A., Fadeev V.V.

1) I.M. Sechenov First Moscow State Medical University (Sechenov University), Moscow, Russia; 2) Professorial Clinic of Endocrinology and Diabetes, Moscow, Russia; 3) Federal Research and Clinical Center of Intensive Care Medicine and Rehabilitology, Moscow, Russia; 4) Lomonosov Moscow State University, Moscow, Russia

Background: A decrease in health-related quality of life (QOL) in patients with chronic diseases may indicate treatment failure or the influence of factors not directly related to the disease. The impact of age, body mass index (BMI), and energy metabolism parameters on QOL in patients with hypothyroidism remains poorly understood.
Objective: Evaluation of the impact of age, BMI, and energy metabolism parameters on QOL in patients with overt and subclinical hypothyroidism.
Materials and methods: This cross-sectional study included 50 healthy participants and 51 patients with primary hypothyroidism (overt and subclinical). All participants underwent physical and laboratory examinations; health-related QOL was assessed using the SF-36 (Medical Outcomes Study Short Form Health Survey-36), and skin nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NADH) fluorescence amplitude was measured.
Results: Patients with overt and subclinical hypothyroidism had significantly lower scores on the physical and mental health component summary scales, as well as the SF-36 total score. SF-36 scores and NADH fluorescence amplitude did not correlate with thyroid hormone levels. A moderate negative association between age and the physical health component summary score was found in both the overall sample and the study groups. BMI was inversely associated with this score both in the overall sample and in patients with hypothyroidism. NADH fluorescence amplitude had a moderate direct relationship with age in the overall sample and in healthy participants.
Conclusion: Increasing age and BMI are more important in worsening QOL in patients with hypothyroidism than thyroid hormone levels. NADH fluorescence amplitude increased with age, independent of thyroid hormone levels. 

For citations: Ryzhkova E.G., Shikunova E.D., Morgunova T.B., Ryzhkov I.A., Fadeev V.V. The impact of age and body mass index on quality of life in patients with primary hypothyroidism: results of a cross-sectional study. Pharmateca. 2026;33(2):56-64. (In Russ.). DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.18565/pharmateca.2026.2.56-64

Authors’ contribution: E.G. Ryzhkova – concept development, data preparation, formal analysis, study implementation, methodology development, project management, visualization, and original writing. E.D. Shikunova – literature collection and analysis, visualization, and original writing. T.B. Morgunova – project management, resource procurement, scientific supervision, reviewing and editing. I.A. Ryzhkov – conceptualization, methodology development, reviewing and editing. V.V. Fadeev – resource procurement, scientific supervision, reviewing and editing.
Conflicts of interest: The authors confirm that they have no conflicts of interest to declare.
Funding: The study was conducted without any sponsorship.
Ethical Approval: The study was conducted in accordance with the principles of the Declaration of Helsinki (2013). The study protocol was approved by the Local Ethics Committee of the Sechenov First Moscow State Medical University (protocol No. 02-23 dated January 26, 2023).
Patient Consent for Publication: All patients provided informed consent for the publication of their data.
Authors’ Data Sharing Statement: The data supporting the findings of this study are available upon request from the corresponding author after approval from the principal investigator.

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About the Authors

E.G. Ryzhkova, Postgraduate Student, Department of Endocrinology and Metabolic Health, N.V. Sklifosovsky Institute of Clinical Medicine, I.M. Sechenov First Moscow State Medical University (Sechenov University), Moscow, Russia; e.g.ryzhkova@bk.ru, ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0069-1692 (corresponding author)
E.D. Shikunova, Student, N.V. Sklifosovsky Institute of Clinical Medicine, I.M. Sechenov First Moscow State Medical University (Sechenov University), Moscow, Russia; kate2419@mail.ru, ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0001-0757-0722
T.B. Morgunova, Cand. Sci. (Med.), Associate Professor, Endocrinologist, Professorial Clinic of Endocrinology and Diabetes, Moscow, Russia; tanmorgun@mail.ru, ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1500-1586
I.A. Ryzhkov, Cand. Sci. (Med.), Leading Researcher, Head of the Laboratory of Clinical Pathophysiology of Critical Conditions, V.A. Negovsky Research Institute of General Reanimatology, Federal Research and Clinical Center of Intensive Care Medicine and Rehabilitology, Moscow, Russia; riamed21@gmail.com, ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0631-5666
V.V. Fadeev, Dr. Sci. (Med.), Corresponding Member of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Professor, Department of Internal Medicine, Faculty of Fundamental Medicine, Moscow Scientific Institute of Orthopaedics, Lomonosov Moscow State University, Moscow, Russia; walfad@mail.ru, ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3026-6315

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