Endocrine Abstracts

Objective: To investigate the prevalence and the relation between metabolic syndrome components and TSH values below and above 2.5 mIU/l in euthyroid premenopausal women.

Material and methods: 446 women of mean age 30.98±9.3 (18-51 years) with no history of diabetes or lipid-lowering medications were included in the study. Standard oral glucose tolerance test with insulin measurement was performed, TSH, total cholesterol, HDL, triglycerides were measured, LDL and BMI were calculated. All women had TSH within reference range (0.4-4.2 mIU/l) with no significant medical conditions.

Results: 266 women had TSH<2.5 mIU/l (group 1), while 180 had TSH≥2.5 mIU/l (group 2) with no differences between mean age (30.8±8.9 vs 31.3±9.9 years, P=0.554). Group 2 women had higher frequency of overweight or obesity (OR=1.553, P=0.039), elevated triglycerides (OR=2.290, P=0.002), HOMA index higher than 2.5 (OR=1.804, P=0.003) compared to group 1. Moreover, the levels of total cholesterol (5.03±1.01 vs 4.82±0.97 mmol/l, P=0.036) and LDL (3.17±0.91 vs 2.99±0.84 mmol/l, P=0.027) were higher in women with TSH ≥ 2.5 mIU/l than in those with TSH < 2.5 mIU/l. After adjustment for age and BMI TSH levels showed weak positive correlations with total cholesterol and LDL cholesterol.

Conclusion: The results of the study confirm the association between thyroid hormones and the components of metabolic syndrome. Even high-normal TSH values in these young otherwise healthy women may lead to increased risk of obesity, insulin resistance and dyslipidemia.