ABSTRACT
Malnutrition is one of the major health problems in developing countries and contributes to child mortality throughout the world. Thyroid hormones play a crucial role in the metabolism, which is used for growth and maturation.
Objective:To understand the differences in thyroid hormone levels between severe and mild-moderate malnutrition.
Methods:This was a cross-sectional study between April and May 2016 at the Adam Malik General Hospital, Medan. The subjects are 1-5 years old with severe and mild-moderate malnutrition. Children with hypothyroid/hyperthyroid who took medicine that could affect their thyroid hormone levels were excluded. Data were analysed using independent T and Mann-Whitney U tests with 95% CI. P value <0.05 were considered statistically significant.
Result:The level of T3 was different between severe and mild-moderate malnutrition. The level of T3 was lower in cases of severe malnutrition than in cases of mild-moderate malnutrition (p < 0.001, 95% CI 0.29-1.00) but the T4 level was not lower (p 0.065, 95% CI -0.32-3.00).
Conclusion:There was a significant difference in the T3 level between severe and mild-moderate malnutrition, where the T3 level was lower in cases of severe malnutrition.
