title: Elevated thyroid stimulating hormone levels are associated with metabolic syndrome in a Chinese community-based population of euthyroid people aged 40 years and older
abstract: This study investigated whether high-normal thyrotropin (TSH) levels are associated with metabolic syndrome in euthyroid Chinese people≥40 years old. Clinical and metabolic factors were assessed in 2,356 subjects (40-77 years old) with TSH levels in the normal range (0.35-5.00 mU/L). Using 2.50 mU/L as the cut-off point of TSH level within the normal range, we divided subjects into the high-TSH (2.50-5.00 mU/L;n= 1,064) and low-TSH (0.35-2.50 mU/L;n= 11,292) group. The results showed that the mean levels of body mass index (BMI), total cholesterol (TC), low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), and fasting plasma glucose (FPG) were higher in the high-TSH group and TSH levels were significantly positively correlated with BMI, LDL-C, TC, and FPG. The prevalence of central obesity, hypertriglyceridemia, low high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), and high FPG (>5.60 mmol/L) was significantly higher in females and subjects with high-TSH levels. Metabolic syndrome was also more prevalent in the high-TSH group. People over the age of 40 years with high-normal TSH levels had a 1.2-fold increased risk of metabolic syndrome, compared with those with low-normal TSH levels, after adjusting for age and gender. In conclusion, high normal TSH is a risk factor for metabolic syndrome in people≥40 years old.
authors.affiliation: Department of Endocrinology, The First Affiliated Hospital, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, Jiangsu 210029, China
authors.forename: Bojin
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.affiliation: Department of Endocrinology, The First Affiliated Hospital, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, Jiangsu 210029, China
authors.forename: Hui
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.affiliation: Department of Endocrinology, The First Affiliated Hospital, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, Jiangsu 210029, China
authors.forename: Zhixiao
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Department of Endocrinology, The First Affiliated Hospital, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, Jiangsu 210029, China
authors.forename: Tao
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.affiliation: Department of Endocrinology, The First Affiliated Hospital, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, Jiangsu 210029, China
authors.forename: Hongwei
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Guo
authors.affiliation: Department of Endocrinology, The First Affiliated Hospital, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, Jiangsu 210029, China
authors.forename: Pei
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Cheng
authors.affiliation: Department of Endocrinology, The First Affiliated Hospital, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, Jiangsu 210029, China
authors.forename: Wei
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: He
authors.affiliation: Department of Endocrinology, The First Affiliated Hospital, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, Jiangsu 210029, China
authors.forename: Min
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Sun
authors.affiliation: Department of Endocrinology, The First Affiliated Hospital, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, Jiangsu 210029, China
authors.forename: Huanhuan
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Department of Endocrinology, The First Affiliated Hospital, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, Jiangsu 210029, China|Department of Endocrinology, The First Affiliated Hospital, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, Jiangsu 210029, China; duanyu@medmail.com.cn
authors.forename: Yu
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Duan
keywords: thyroid stimulating hormone; euthyroid; metabolic syndrome; central obesity; dyslipidemia