South African medical journal = Suid-Afrikaanse tydskrif vir geneeskunde
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To determine the prevalence of thyroid dysfunction in institutionalised elderly people in Cape Town and to assess the usefulness of an abnormal thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) concentration as a screening test in this group. ⋯ The prevalence of thyroid dysfunction in institutionalised elderly people in Cape Town is similar to that reported for elderly people in other centres. Thyroid dysfunction had not previously been recognised in approximately two-thirds of the subjects in this study. The serum TSH concentration is a reliable screening test for thyroid dysfunction in the elderly, but is less useful if used to identify biochemical thyroid disease. An elevated TSH concentration is a better predictor of thyroid dysfunction in the elderly than a depressed TSH concentration.