title: High serum thyrotropin levels are associated with current but not with incident hypertension.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Recent data from a population-based study in children and adolescents suggest that serum thyrotropin (TSH) levels are associated with arterial blood pressure and hypertension. These results are in agreement with some but not all population-based studies in adults. Discrepancies in results might be explained by drug intake, different iodine supplies, and sizes of populations investigated. In addition, it is not clear whether an association between TSH and hypertension exists longitudinally or only cross-sectionally. Thus, our aim was to investigate cross-sectional and longitudinal associations between thyroid function and arterial blood pressure in a large consortium of cohort studies in adults.
  
  
  METHODS
  Data from five population-based studies were pooled resulting in 17,023 individuals being available for cross-sectional and 10,048 individuals for longitudinal analyses. Associations of baseline TSH with baseline blood pressure or hypertension were analyzed by multivariable median or logistic regression models. Multivariable median or Poisson regression models were used to investigate associations of baseline TSH with five-year change in arterial blood pressure or incident hypertension.
  
  
  RESULTS
  There was a cross-sectional positive association of TSH with arterial blood pressure (p<0.001) and hypertension (odds ratio [OR]=1.76 [confidence interval (CI) 1.24-2.50], p=0.002). Likewise, hypothyroidism was associated with systolic (β=1.1 [CI 0.1-2.1], p=0.040) and diastolic blood pressure (β=1.4 [CI 0.7-2.0], p<0.001). TSH, however, was not consistently associated with a five-year change in blood pressure or incident hypertension.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  High serum TSH levels were associated with current hypertension and blood pressure but not with a five-year change in blood pressure and incident hypertension. This argues for only a short-term effect of thyroid hormone levels on arterial blood pressure or a spurious association that needs further evaluation in population-based studies.
authors: Institute for Community Medicine, University of Greifswald, Germany. till.ittermann@uni-greifswald.de
authors: Till
authors: T
authors: Ittermann
authors: Daniel
authors: D
authors: Tiller
authors: Christa
authors: C
authors: Meisinger
authors: Carsten
authors: C
authors: Agger
authors: Matthias
authors: M
authors: Nauck
authors: Rainer
authors: R
authors: Rettig
authors: Albert
authors: A
authors: Hofman
authors: Torben
authors: T
authors: Jørgensen
authors: Allan
authors: A
authors: Linneberg
authors: Jacqueline C M
authors: JC
authors: Witteman
authors: Oscar H
authors: OH
authors: Franco
authors: Karin H
authors: KH
authors: Greiser
authors: Karl
authors: K
authors: Werdan
authors: Angela
authors: A
authors: Döring
authors: Alexander
authors: A
authors: Kluttig
authors: Bruno H C
authors: BH
authors: Stricker
authors: Henry
authors: H
authors: Völzke
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001794:Blood Pressure / Q000502:physiology*; D015331:Cohort Studies; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006973:Hypertension / Q000097:blood / Q000503:physiopathology*; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012044:Regression Analysis; D012306:Risk; D013972:Thyrotropin / Q000097:blood*
chemical_list: D013972:Thyrotropin