Quality of life improvement in patients with Hashimoto thyroiditis and other goiters after surgery: A prospective cohort study

Abstract

Introduction: Hashimoto thyroiditis (HT) and other benign goiters (BG) might influence patients' quality of life (QoL). The objective of this study was to analyze influence of surgery on these patients' QoL.

Methods: A prospective cohort study was conducted. The ThyPRO questionnaire was used in the QoL assessment.

Results: The HT patients experienced significantly worse hypothyroid symptoms and sex life than the BG patients. The improvement in QoL in the BG patients was significant after surgery in all ThyPRO domains. In the HT patients, the improvement was significant in all but two domains, eye symptoms and cognitive impairment. The best improvement in both groups was in overall QoL. None of the patients developed permanent consequences.

Conclusions: The QoL of HT and BG patients is impaired and improves significantly after surgical treatment. Thyroidectomy should be considered as a treatment option in the HT patients more often as in the BG patients.

Keywords: Benign goiter; Hashimoto thyroiditis; Quality of life; Thyroidectomy.