Myxedema crisis is most commonly seen in which patient population?

• A. Young men in summer
• B. Elderly women in winter
• C. Children
• D. Athletes

Answer: (B)

Myxedema crisis is a life-threatening decompensation of hypothyroidism that occurs when severe thyroid hormone deficiency is triggered by stress, such as infection or cold exposure. It most commonly affects elderly women, especially during winter, because long-standing hypothyroidism with reduced physiologic reserve is more prevalent in this group and cold weather acts as a potent precipitating stress. In winter, the combination of advanced age, underlying hypothyroidism, and environmental cold increases the risk of slipping into crisis, presenting with altered mental status, hypothermia, bradycardia, and multisystem abnormalities. This is why elderly women in winter are the classic at-risk population. The other groups—young men in summer, children, and athletes—do not have the same epidemiologic risk profile or triggering context.