Background: Hypothyroidism is a chronic thyroid disease that requires a lifetime replacement therapy. It was common to administer levothyroxine on an empty stomach, 30 minutes before breakfast, which bothered many patients. Objective: The primary objective of the study was to examine the effect of different time of levothyroxine intake on the values of FT4, FT3, TSH and AntiTPO for every 8 weeks, through three different time regimes of levothyroxine intake. The secondary objective was to examine the effect of different times of levothyroxine intake on the changes in serum concentrations of total cholesterol, LDL, triglycerides. Methods: The study included 376 subjects, (335 women and 41 men) with primary hypothyroidism, at the ages between 18-75 years, who were taking a stable dose of levothyroxine for at least 6 months (average 125 micrograms). Subjects were divided into three groups A, B, C and they were taking 24-30 weeks of levothyroxine together with water in three different time periods: 30 min before breakfast, 1 h before main meal and just before bedtime (minimum of 2 h after dinner). After every 8-10 weeks, they have changed the time of taking the medicine, until all three terms passed. Results: We monitored values of FT3, FT4, TSH and AntiTPO. In all three groups there was no significant difference in the monitored values in relation to the different time of taking the medicine. The values of cholesterol, LDL and triglycerides compared by groups, at different time of levothyroxine intake did not have a significant difference. Conclusion: With this study, we proved that there is no significant difference in the values of FT3, FT4, TSH, AntiTPO, cholesterol, LDL and triglycerides if the drug is used before lunch or after dinner. Due to this results we suggest taking the therapy at a time which best suits the individual while taking care of adequate meals.
Key words: Hypothyroidism, Levothyroxine administration
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