With an aging population, the number of people with Alzheimer’s disease (AD), a significant cause of morbidity and mortality, is expected to reach 12 million in the United States alone by 2050. While the disease remains incurable, associated untreated comorbidities can increase the risk of AD. Evidence from preclinical research suggests that dysfunction in thyroid hormones may increase β-amyloid levels and tau phosphorylation, 2 hallmark features of AD.
Objectives
This study sought to analyze associations between AD and thyroid disorders using the national US mortality database.
Methods
We used the CDC’s Wide-Ranging Online Data for Epidemiology Research database to extract the number of deaths, underlying cause of death, and multiple causes of death by age and sex. ICD-10 codes were used to identify hypothyroidism, hyperthyroidism, and AD. Multivariate logistic regression was employed to analyze the relationship between thyroid disorders and AD.
Results
In 2022, hypothyroidism contributed to 32 707 deaths. Patients who died from AD had an 80% higher likelihood of having hypothyroidism as a contributing cause of death. No association was found between hyperthyroidism mortality and AD mortality.
Conclusion
We found a strong association between hypothyroidism and AD mortality. Further studies are needed to determine the nature of this relationship.
