Evaluation of thyroid profile among children aged 1-15 years with nephrotic syndrome: An observation study

Table 1 Demographic details of the study subjects, n = 70

Parameters	Number	Percentage
Age group in years
0-1	2	2.9
> 1 to 5	33	47.1
6-10 y	30	42.8
> 10	5	7.1
Mean age in years	5.88 ± 3.13
Sex
Male	41	58.6
Female	29	41.4
Area of residence
Rural	41	58.6
Urban	29	41.4
Types of nephrotic syndrome
Newly diagnosed	31	44.3
1st relapse	13	18.6
2nd relapse	15	21.4
Frequent relapse	11	15.7
Thyroid status in study subjects
Euthyroidism	31	44.3
Subclinical hypothyroidism	20	28.6
Overt hypothyroidism	19	27.1
Response to steroid therapy
Steroid responsive	56	80
Steroid dependant	8	11.4
Steroid resistant	6	8.6

Table 2 Biochemical parameters in study subjects, n = 70

Parameter	Newly diagnosed	1st relapse	2nd relapse	Frequent relapse	P value1
Free T3	2.77 ± 0.37	2.93 ± 0.16	2.57 ± 0.47	2.50 ± 0.39	0.01
Free T4	0.91 ± 0.19	0.95 ± 0.11	0.84 ± 0.27	0.78 ± 0.12	0.03
TSH	4.83 ± 0.76	4.74 ± 1.17	5.81 ± 1.78	5.86 ± 1.56	< 0.01
GFR	69.61 ± 17.79	69.46 ± 15.20	64.52 ± 13.85	59.90 ± 12.10	< 0.01
T. Cholesterol	398.90 ± 67.25	432.0 ± 48.63	482.13 ± 48.63	476.91 ± 70.74	0.10
TG	411.0 ± 92.72	424.62 ± 82.79	433.07 ± 138.90	500.45 ± 151.38	0.27
LDL	396.64 ± 50.76	415.15 ± 53.30	416.40 ± 67.30	435.82 ± 67.54	0.16

¹ANOVA test or Kruskal–Wallis H test was used.

GFR: Thyroid-stimulating hormone; LDL: Low-density lipoprotein; TG: Thyroglobulin; TSH: Glomerular filtration rate.

Table 3 Correlation of thyroid function tests with serum albumin and protein

Variable		Free T3	Free T4	TSH
S. albumin	r value	0.036	0.322	-0.165
	P value1	0.768	0.007	0.172
	n	70	70	70
S. protein	r value	0.187	0.369	-0.227
	P value1	0.121	0.002	0.059
	n	70	70	70

¹Spearman correlation coefficient was used.

S: Serum; TSH: Glomerular filtration rate.

Table 4 Association of thyroid status with steroid responsiveness in study subjects, n = 70

Thyroid status	Steroid responsive		Steroid resistant
	Yes	No	Yes	No
Euthyroidism	29 (51.8)	2 (14.3)	1 (16.7)	30(46.9)
Subclinical hypothyroidism	16 (28.6)	4 (28.6)	2 (33.3)	18 (28.1)
Overt hypothyroidism	11 (19.6)	8 (57.1)	3 (50.0)	16 (25.0)
P value1	< 0.01		0.29

Data are n (%).

¹χ² test was used.