title: Pituitary response to thyrotropin releasing hormone in children with overweight and obesity.
abstract: Thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) concentrations in the high normal range are common in children with overweight and obesity, and associated with increased cardiovascular disease risk. Prior studies aiming at unravelling the mechanisms underlying these high TSH concentrations mainly focused on factors promoting thyrotropin releasing hormone (TRH) production as a cause for high TSH concentrations. However, it is unknown whether TSH release of the pituitary in response to TRH is affected in children with overweight and obesity. Here we describe TSH release of the pituitary in response to exogenous TRH in 73 euthyroid children (39% males) with overweight or (morbid) obesity. Baseline TSH concentrations (0.9-5.5 mU/L) were not associated with BMI z score, whereas these concentrations were positively associated with TSH concentrations 20 minutes after TRH administration (r(2) = 0.484, p < 0.001) and the TSH incremental area under the curve during the TRH stimulation test (r(2) = 0.307, p < 0.001). These results suggest that pituitary TSH release in response to TRH stimulation might be an important factor contributing to high normal serum TSH concentrations, which is a regular finding in children with overweight and obesity. The clinical significance and the intermediate factors contributing to pituitary TSH release need to be elucidated in future studies.
authors.affiliation: Centre for Overweight Adolescent and Children's Healthcare (COACH), Department of Paediatrics, Maastricht University Medical Centre, P. Debyelaan 25, 6229 HX Maastricht, The Netherlands.|School of Nutrition &Translational Research in Metabolism (NUTRIM), Maastricht University, Universiteitssingel 6229 HR, Maastricht, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Jesse
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Rijks
authors.affiliation: Centre for Overweight Adolescent and Children's Healthcare (COACH), Department of Paediatrics, Maastricht University Medical Centre, P. Debyelaan 25, 6229 HX Maastricht, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Bas
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Penders
authors.affiliation: Centre for Overweight Adolescent and Children's Healthcare (COACH), Department of Paediatrics, Maastricht University Medical Centre, P. Debyelaan 25, 6229 HX Maastricht, The Netherlands.|School of Nutrition &Translational Research in Metabolism (NUTRIM), Maastricht University, Universiteitssingel 6229 HR, Maastricht, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Elke
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Dorenbos
authors.affiliation: Centre for Overweight Adolescent and Children's Healthcare (COACH), Department of Paediatrics, Maastricht University Medical Centre, P. Debyelaan 25, 6229 HX Maastricht, The Netherlands.|School of Nutrition &Translational Research in Metabolism (NUTRIM), Maastricht University, Universiteitssingel 6229 HR, Maastricht, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Saartje
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Straetemans
authors.affiliation: Centre for Overweight Adolescent and Children's Healthcare (COACH), Department of Paediatrics, Maastricht University Medical Centre, P. Debyelaan 25, 6229 HX Maastricht, The Netherlands.|School of Nutrition &Translational Research in Metabolism (NUTRIM), Maastricht University, Universiteitssingel 6229 HR, Maastricht, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Willem-Jan
authors.initials: WJ
authors.lastname: Gerver
authors.affiliation: Centre for Overweight Adolescent and Children's Healthcare (COACH), Department of Paediatrics, Maastricht University Medical Centre, P. Debyelaan 25, 6229 HX Maastricht, The Netherlands.|School of Nutrition &Translational Research in Metabolism (NUTRIM), Maastricht University, Universiteitssingel 6229 HR, Maastricht, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Anita
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Vreugdenhil
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D006801:Humans; D009765:Obesity / Q000097:blood*; D010902:Pituitary Gland / Q000378:metabolism*; D013972:Thyrotropin / Q000097:blood*; D013973:Thyrotropin-Releasing Hormone / Q000494:pharmacology*
chemical_list: D013973:Thyrotropin-Releasing Hormone; D013972:Thyrotropin