To evaluate the effects of hypothyroidism on the quality of life of differentiated thyroid carcinoma patients
undergoing postoperative iodine-131 (I131) therapy. A total of 140 thyroid carcinoma inpatients treated in
our hospital from January 2016 to June 2017 were collected. All patients were treated with postoperative
I131 therapy, and followed up for 3 years. The effect of I131 therapy on hypothyroidism was observed from the
perspectives of gender, age, course of disease and I131. On this basis, multivariate logistic regression analysis
was performed to screen the influencing factors for hypothyroidism in differentiated thyroid carcinoma
patients undergoing postoperative I131 therapy, and the predictive model was established. Quality of life of
patients was compared before and after I131 therapy, and the correlation between thyroid function indices
and quality of life was further analyzed. The predictive value of I 131 therapy after differentiated thyroid
carcinoma surgery for the levels of thyroid function indices and quality of life was evaluated using receiver
operating characteristic curve. A total of 140 patients undergoing I 131 therapy after differentiated thyroid
carcinoma surgery were enrolled. It was found through follow-up that the incidence rate of hypothyroidism
was 35.00 % (49/140). The incidence of hypothyroidism after I131 therapy was related to the thyroid quality,
course of disease, cumulative dose of I131 and operation method (p<0.01), but not related with gender, age
or pathological type (p>0.05). The forest plot of multivariate logistic regression analysis results showed
that thyroid quality, course of disease, I 131 dose and operation method were independent risk factors for
hypothyroidism after postoperative I131 therapy. Compared with before I131 therapy, each index of quality
of life was significantly increased in differentiated thyroid carcinoma patients after postoperative I131
therapy (p<0.05). The results of correlation analysis revealed that some indices of quality of life (physical
function, bodily pain, social function and mental health) were all positively correlated with thyroid
function indices total triiodothyronine, free triiodothyronine, free thyroxine, total thyroxine and thyroid
stimulating hormone (p<0.05 or p<0.01). Other indices of quality of life (role physical, general health,
vitality and role emotional) had no significant correlations with triiodothyronine, free triiodothyronine,
free thyroxine, total thyroxine or thyroid stimulating hormone (p>0.05). The area under receiver operating
characteristic curve of thyroid stimulating hormone level in differentiated thyroid carcinoma patients was
0.819 (95 % CI: 0.744-0.893), and the optimal cutoff value was 0.63 mU/L. The cutoff value of I131 dose was
7.35 GBq, and the area under receiver operating characteristic curve was 0.726 (95 % CI: 0.623-0.830).
Hypothyroidism in differentiated thyroid carcinoma patients undergoing postoperative I 131 therapy has a
significant impact on quality of life. There are correlations between indices of quality of life and thyroid
function indices. Postoperative I 131 therapy not only mitigates the symptoms of hypothyroidism, but also
improves the overall quality of life of patientsr