Grixti Lydia, Fisher Holly, Priestley Julia, McMullan Cheryl, Woollven Anna, Perros Petros, Mitchell Anna Louise, Gan Earn H, Pearce Simon H
Eur Thyroid J. 2025 May 14;14(3). doi: 10.1530/ETJ-25-0044. Print 2025 Jun 1.
A substantial proportion of patients taking thyroid hormone replacement for hypothyroidism show persistent symptoms. We sought to explore the prevalence and degree of fatigue in this patient group.
An online survey including the FACIT-F fatigue scale was distributed by two UK patient support organisations, the British Thyroid Foundation (BTF) and The Thyroid Trust (TTT). Overall, 1,334 responses were received, of which 1,251 were complete, unique and from patients with primary hypothyroidism/Hashimoto thyroiditis who reported taking thyroid hormone replacements.
Ninety eight percent of respondents were women and the mean duration of treatment was 10.8 years (SD: 9.74). The mean fatigue score on the FACIT-F scale was 20.5 (SD: 10.5), with 89% of respondents fulfilling criteria for abnormal fatigue. Fatigue scores were not significantly different between respondents of different ages, gender, treatment type or treatment duration. FACIT-F scores were positively correlated with self-declared overall health state (Pearson r = 0.576, P < 0.001).
Fatigue in treated hypothyroidism is very common, and the FACIT-F scores reported are comparable or worse than those recorded for many other chronic conditions. This study suggests that addressing fatigue in this patient group will be key to improving wellbeing and quality of life.
相当一部分接受甲状腺激素替代治疗的甲状腺功能减退患者仍有持续症状。我们试图探究该患者群体中疲劳的患病率及严重程度。
英国两个患者支持组织，即英国甲状腺基金会（BTF）和甲状腺信托基金（TTT）开展了一项包含FACIT-F疲劳量表的在线调查。总共收到1334份回复，其中1251份完整、唯一且来自报告正在服用甲状腺激素替代药物的原发性甲状腺功能减退/桥本甲状腺炎患者。
98%的受访者为女性，平均治疗时长为10.8年（标准差：9.74）。FACIT-F量表的平均疲劳评分为20.5（标准差：10.5），89%的受访者符合异常疲劳的标准。不同年龄、性别、治疗类型或治疗时长的受访者之间疲劳评分无显著差异。FACIT-F评分与自我宣称的总体健康状况呈正相关（皮尔逊相关系数r = 0.576，P < 0.001）。
接受治疗的甲状腺功能减退患者中疲劳非常普遍，报告的FACIT-F评分与许多其他慢性病的评分相当或更差。这项研究表明，解决该患者群体的疲劳问题将是改善幸福感和生活质量的关键。
