ArticleCureus2026
A Cross-Sectional Observational Study of Serum Thyroid-Stimulating Hormone (TSH) in Rheumatoid Arthritis Patients in a Tertiary Care Hospital.
Article in Cureus, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
0 citing papers in PubMed.
No citing paper in PubMed yet.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
3 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundRheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a systemic autoimmune disease frequently accompanied by thyroid dysfunction, which may influence disease activity. Occasionally, patients with RA have thyroid abnormalities. Autoimmune thyroid conditions, such as Graves' disease and Hashimoto's thyroiditis, may have a genetic propensity to occur alongside RA. This study addresses a critical knowledge gap by providing data on the prevalence and patterns of thyroid dysfunction in RA patients in South Gujarat.
methodsThis cross-sectional observational study was conducted at Government Medical College, Surat and the New Civil Hospital, a tertiary care centre in South Gujarat, India, from April 2024 to May 2025, to evaluate the association between serum thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) levels and RA severity. Seventy adult patients diagnosed using the European Alliance of Associations for Rheumatology (EULAR) criteria were enrolled through purposive sampling. Demographic, clinical, and laboratory data, including erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), C-reactive protein (CRP), rheumatoid arthritis (RA) factor, anti-cyclic citrullinated peptide (CCP), and thyroid function tests, were collected. Disease activity was assessed via the EULAR criteria.
resultsThe cohort was predominantly female (94.29%), with most participants over 40 years of age. Elevated TSH levels were observed in 29.9% of patients, with 15% showing moderate-to-severe hypothyroidism (>10 mIU/L). Significant associations were found between TSH levels and EULAR disease activity scores (χ² = 13.730, p = 0.03). Regression analysis demonstrated that higher TSH (β = 0.312, p = 0.012) independently predicted increased RA severity, whereas the RA factor had no significant impact (p = 0.746). Correlation analysis confirmed strong inverse relationships between TSH and fT4 (r = -0.626, p < 0.001).
conclusionThese findings indicate that thyroid dysfunction, particularly hypothyroidism, is common in RA and may exacerbate disease severity. Routine thyroid function screening should be considered to optimize management and improve patient outcomes.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.