Introduction:

hypothyroidism has been related to cognitive impairment, as well as a reduction in life quality, however, controversy exists in this matter because evidence is contradictory. Hypothyroidism seems to cause changes in elderly's cognitive and emotional state. Studies are required to establish such relationship, and to evaluate substitute hormonal treatment.

Objective:

to determine the prevalence of subclinical hypothyroidism and cognitive impairment in older adults and its possible association in elderly patients.

Material and Methods:

cross-sectional, analytic, descriptive study, carried out in a Gerontology Module from Family Medicine Clinic "Dr. Ignacio Chávez" in Mexico City, from June to November 2016. Non probabilistic convenience sampling was done. Mini Mental Status Exam was applied for cognitive impairment. Blood Samples were sent to laboratory to make thyroid function tests. Statistical Analysis including independence Chi-Square with significance level 0,05. Statistical Package for the Social Science version 22 was used.

Results:

120 older adults were studied, the average age was 78,2. 35.8% of the patients presented subclinical hypothyroidism, and 63% presented some degree of cognitive impairment. While relating this variables, no statistical significance was obtained (p=0,556).

Conclusions:

The present study demonstrated a high prevalence of subclinical hypothyroidism and cognitive impairment in the study population. The relationship between the two variables was not demonstrated. MÉD.UIS. 2018;31(3):21-25.

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