Effect of estrogen therapy for 1 year on thyroid volume and thyroid nodules in postmenopausal women.
OBJECTIVE
Estrogen receptors are present in thyroid follicular cells in normal and neoplastic tissue. We evaluated changes in total thyroid volume and volume of thyroid nodules in postmenopausal women given either hormone therapy (HT) or no treatment in a 1-year observational follow-up.


METHODS
We studied 33 women receiving HT and 76 women receiving no treatment, comparing total thyroid volume, thyroid nodule volume, and serum concentrations of thyroid-stimulating hormone and estradiol at baseline and 1 year of follow-up.


RESULTS
Serum thyroid-stimulating hormone concentrations were not different between groups either at baseline or at 1 year. Estradiol rose significantly in the HT group. The final percent changes in total thyroid volume were comparable between groups (HT, 1.59 +/- 2.56%; no treatment, 1.20 +/- 2.28%). At baseline, nodules were detected in 17 (51.5%) and 33 (43.4%) of women in the HT and no treatment groups, respectively, with no statistically significant difference between groups. The final number of nodules was unchanged or reduced in 88.2% and 81.1% and increased in 11.8% and 18.9% of women in the HT and no treatment groups, respectively, with no differences between groups. Baseline volumes of thyroid nodules were 0.8 +/- 0.4 and 1.4 +/- 0.4 mL in women in the HT and no treatment groups, respectively (P = 0.4). After 1 year the volume of thyroid nodules was unchanged or reduced in 47.1% and 52.8% and increased in 52.9% and 47.2% of women in the HT and no treatment groups, respectively, with no differences between groups.


CONCLUSIONS
Estrogen administration for 1 year did not affect thyroid volume or the number and volume of thyroid nodules in postmenopausal women.
Ceresini
Graziano
G
Department of Internal Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, University of Parma, Parma, Italy. ceresini@unipr.it
Milli
Bruna
B
Morganti
Simonetta
S
Maggio
Marcello
M
Bacchi-Modena
Alberto
A
Sgarabotto
Maria Paola
MP
Chirico
Carla
C
Di Donato
Pietro
P
Campanati
Paolo
P
Valcavi
Roberto
R
Ceda
Gian Paolo
GP
Braverman
Lewis E
LE
Valenti
Giorgio
G
D015914:Estrogen Replacement Therapy; D004967:Estrogens / Q000494:pharmacology*; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D017698:Postmenopause / Q000187:drug effects*; D011372:Progestins / Q000627:therapeutic use; D013961:Thyroid Gland / Q000187:drug effects*; D016606:Thyroid Nodule / Q000188:drug therapy*
D004967:Estrogens; D011372:Progestins