title: Higher serum free thyroxine levels are associated with coronary artery disease.
abstract: Thyroid hormone has many effects on the heart and cardiovascular system. Thyrotoxicosis is associated with increased cardiovascular morbidity and mortality, primarily due to heart failure and thromboembolism. However, the relationship between thyroid hormone excess and the cardiac complications of angina pectoris and myocardial infarction remains largely speculative. Moreover, few studies have been reported on the effect of thyroid hormone levels within normal range on coronary artery disease (CAD). Therefore we examined the association of thyroid function with coronary artery diseases in euthyroid angina patients. Total 192 subjects (mean age; 60.8 yrs) were enrolled in which coronary angiograms were performed due to chest pain. We measured free thyroxine (FT(4)), thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH), serum lipid levels and high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP) levels and analyzed their association with the presence of CAD. Serum FT(4) levels were higher in patients with CAD compared with the patients without CAD (1.31 +/- 0.30 vs 1.20 +/- 0.23, p = 0.006), and high FT(4) level was associated with the presence of multi-vessel disease. Multivariate analysis showed that age (odds ratio (OR) 1.04; 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.01-1.07, p = 0.007), hypertension (OR 2.04; 95% CI 1.06-3.90, p = 0.036) and FT(4) (OR 4.23; 95% CI 1.12-15.99, p = 0.033), were the determinants for CAD. The relative risk (RR) for CAD in highest tertile of FT(4) showed increased risk compared with the lowest tertile (RR 1.98; 95% CI 0.98-3.99, p<0.001). Our study showed that FT(4) levels were associated with the presence and the severity of CAD. Also, this study suggests that elevated serum FT(4) levels even within normal range could be a risk factor for CAD. Further studies will be necessary to confirm the relationship of thyroid function and CAD.
authors.affiliation: Department of Endocrinology and Metabolism, Kangbuk Samsung Hospital, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Seoul, South Korea.
authors.forename: Chan-Hee
authors.initials: CH
authors.lastname: Jung
authors.forename: Eun-Jung
authors.initials: EJ
authors.lastname: Rhee
authors.forename: Hun-Sub
authors.initials: HS
authors.lastname: Shin
authors.forename: Sook-Kyoung
authors.initials: SK
authors.lastname: Jo
authors.forename: Jong-Chul
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Won
authors.forename: Cheol-Young
authors.initials: CY
authors.lastname: Park
authors.forename: Byung-Jin
authors.initials: BJ
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Ki-Chul
authors.initials: KC
authors.lastname: Sung
authors.forename: Bum-Soo
authors.initials: BS
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Won-Young
authors.initials: WY
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Ki-Won
authors.initials: KW
authors.lastname: Oh
authors.forename: Jin-Ho
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Kang
authors.forename: Sung-Woo
authors.initials: SW
authors.lastname: Park
authors.forename: Man-Ho
authors.initials: MH
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Sun-Woo
authors.initials: SW
authors.lastname: Kim
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D017023:Coronary Angiography; D003327:Coronary Disease / Q000097:blood* / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D003920:Diabetes Mellitus / Q000097:blood; D003925:Diabetic Angiopathies / Q000097:blood; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors; D013974:Thyroxine / Q000097:blood*
chemical_list: D013974:Thyroxine