title: Thyroid function and mortality in older men: a prospective study.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Mild abnormalities of thyroid function have been associated with both beneficial and detrimental effects on mortality.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  Our objective was to determine the association between continuous TSH as well as categories of thyroid function with total and cause-specific mortality in a cohort of older men.
  
  
  METHODS
  Data were analyzed from the Osteoporotic Fractures in Men (MrOS) study, a cohort of community-dwelling U.S. men aged 65 yr and older. A total of 1587 participants randomly selected for thyroid function testing were included in this analysis. TSH and free T4 were measured at baseline, and four categories of thyroid function were defined. (subclinical hyperthyroid; euthyroid; subclinical hypothyroid TSH<10 mIU/liter; and subclinical hypothyroid, TSH≥10 mIU/liter.)
  
  
  METHODS
  Total mortality, cardiovascular (CV) and cancer deaths were confirmed by review of death certificates.
  
  
  RESULTS
  There were 432 deaths over a mean follow-up of 8.3 yr. In fully adjusted models, there was no association between baseline TSH and any death [relative hazard (RH)=1.01 per mIU/liter, 95% confidence interval (CI)=0.95-1.06], CV death (RH=1.05 per mIU/liter, 95% CI 0.96-1.15), or cancer death (RH=0.96 per mIU/liter, 95% CI=0.85-1.07). There was also no statistically significant association between thyroid function category and total or cause-specific mortality, but few men (n=8) had subclinical hypothyroidism with TSH levels of 10 mIU/liter or higher.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  A single measurement of thyroid function did not predict total or cause-specific mortality in this cohort. These data support neither a beneficial nor a detrimental effect of subclinical thyroid dysfunction in older men.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Subclinical thyroid dysfunction is not associated with an increased risk of all-cause or CV mortality in older men.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, University of California, San Francisco, 400 Parnassus Avenue, A-550, San Francisco, California 94143, USA. avantika.waring@ucsf.edu
authors.forename: Avantika C
authors.initials: AC
authors.lastname: Waring
authors.forename: Stephanie
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Harrison
authors.forename: Mary H
authors.initials: MH
authors.lastname: Samuels
authors.forename: Kristine E
authors.initials: KE
authors.lastname: Ensrud
authors.forename: Erin S
authors.initials: ES
authors.lastname: LeBLanc
authors.forename: Andrew R
authors.initials: AR
authors.lastname: Hoffman
authors.forename: Eric
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Orwoll
authors.forename: Howard A
authors.initials: HA
authors.lastname: Fink
authors.forename: Elizabeth
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Barrett-Connor
authors.forename: Douglas C
authors.initials: DC
authors.lastname: Bauer
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002318:Cardiovascular Diseases / Q000401:mortality* / Q000503:physiopathology; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000401:mortality* / Q000503:physiopathology; D013959:Thyroid Diseases / Q000401:mortality* / Q000503:physiopathology; D013960:Thyroid Function Tests; D013961:Thyroid Gland / Q000503:physiopathology*; D013972:Thyrotropin / Q000097:blood*; D013974:Thyroxine / Q000097:blood*
chemical_list: D013972:Thyrotropin; D013974:Thyroxine