Does Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus Affect the Shear Wave Velocity of the Thyroid Gland of Children Without Autoimmune Thyroiditis?

OBJECTIVE

The aim of this study is to evaluate the shear wave velocity (SWV) of the thyroid gland with acoustic radiation force impulse elastography in children with type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1D).

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Between November 2015 and April 2016, 35 T1D patients who were referred to our hospital's endocrinology outpatient clinic (mean age, 11.88 ± 4.1 years) and 30 children (mean age, 11.3 ± 3.08 years) in the control group were enrolled in the study. Five acoustic radiation force impulse elastography measurements from each lobe of the thyroid gland in m/s were recorded. Diabetes age, hemoglobin A1c, and C-peptide levels were recorded in T1D patients. Statistical analyses were performed using SPSS version 21 (IBM Corporation, Armonk, NY).

RESULTS

The mean SWV of the thyroid gland in T1D patients and the control group was 1.11 ± 0.21 and 1.29 ± 0.23 m/s, respectively. The mean SWV of the thyroid gland in T1D patients was lower than that in the control group and this was significant (P = 0.002). The mean SWV of the thyroid gland was not correlated with hemoglobin A1c level, body mass index, or the insulin dose in T1D patients.

CONCLUSIONS

The present study showed that T1D affects the thyroid gland stiffness even in patients without autoimmune thyroiditis. Acoustic radiation force impulse elastography may be a useful method in determining early changes in thyroid gland in T1D and may be used as a screening tool.