Subclinical hypothyroidism in danish lean and obese children and adolescents

Maria Dahl; Johanne Dam Ohrt; Cilius Esmann Fonvig; Julie Tonsgaard Kloppenborg; Oluf Pedersen; Torben Hansen; Jens Christian Holm

doi:10.4274/jcrpe.3319

Subclinical hypothyroidism in danish lean and obese children and adolescents

Maria Dahl
, Johanne Dam Ohrt
, Cilius Esmann Fonvig
, Julie Tonsgaard Kloppenborg
, Oluf Pedersen
, Torben Hansen
, Jens Christian Holm^*

^*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Research › peer-review

Abstract

Objective: Thyroid abnormalities are common in obese children. The aim of the present study was to examine the prevalence of subclinical hypothyroidism (SH) and to determine how circulating thyroid hormone concentrations correlate with anthropometrics in Danish lean and obese children and adolescents. Methods: In this cross-sectional study, we included 3006 children and adolescents, aged 6-18 years, from the Registry of the Danish Childhood Obesity Biobank. The overweight/obese group (n=1796) consisted of study participants with a body mass index (BMI) standard deviation score (SDS) ≥1.28. The control group (n=1210) comprised lean children with a BMI SDS <1.28. All participants were characterized by anthropometrics (weight, height, and waist circumference) and fasting serum concentrations of thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH), free triiodothyronine, and free thyroxine (fT₄) at baseline. Results: The prevalence of SH was higher among overweight/obese compared to lean study participants (10.4% vs. 6.4%, p=0.0001). In the overweight/obese group, fasting serum TSH concentrations were associated positively with BMI SDS (p<0.0001) and waist-height ratio (WHtR) (p<0.0001) independent of age, sex, and pubertal developmental stage, whereas fasting serum fT₄ concentrations were associated positively only with WHtR. The odds ratio of exhibiting SH was 1.8 when being overweight/obese compared with lean (p=0.0007) and 1.8 when presenting with a WHtR >0.5 (p=0.0003). Conclusion: The prevalence of SH was higher among overweight/obese study participants. The positive correlations of circulating TSH and fT₄ with WHtR suggest that central obesity, independent of the overall degree of obesity, augments the risk of concurrent thyroid abnormalities in children and adolescents with obesity.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	8-16
Number of pages	9
Journal	JCRPE Journal of Clinical Research in Pediatric Endocrinology
Volume	9
Issue number	1
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.4274/jcrpe.3319
Publication status	Published - Mar 2017

Funding

This study was part of the research activities of the Danish Childhood Obesity Biobank, as well as of the TARGET research initiative (The Impact of our Genomes on Individual Treatment Response in Obese Children, http://www.target. ku.dk), and BIOCHILD (Genetics and Systems Biology of Childhood Obesity in India and Denmark, www.biochild. ku.dk). The study was funded by the Innovation Fund Denmark (grants 0603-00484B and 0603-00457B), the Region Zealand Health and Medical Research Foundation, and from The Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Basic Metabolic Research (www.metabol.ku.dk), an independent research center at the University of Copenhagen partially funded by an unrestricted donation from the Novo Nordisk Foundation.

Keywords

Childhood obesity
Thyroid hormones
Waist-height ratio

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10.4274/jcrpe.3319

Cite this

@article{e7d5c72cd7074b72b7ec86f364d4330c,

title = "Subclinical hypothyroidism in danish lean and obese children and adolescents",

abstract = "Objective: Thyroid abnormalities are common in obese children. The aim of the present study was to examine the prevalence of subclinical hypothyroidism (SH) and to determine how circulating thyroid hormone concentrations correlate with anthropometrics in Danish lean and obese children and adolescents. Methods: In this cross-sectional study, we included 3006 children and adolescents, aged 6-18 years, from the Registry of the Danish Childhood Obesity Biobank. The overweight/obese group (n=1796) consisted of study participants with a body mass index (BMI) standard deviation score (SDS) ≥1.28. The control group (n=1210) comprised lean children with a BMI SDS <1.28. All participants were characterized by anthropometrics (weight, height, and waist circumference) and fasting serum concentrations of thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH), free triiodothyronine, and free thyroxine (fT4) at baseline. Results: The prevalence of SH was higher among overweight/obese compared to lean study participants (10.4\% vs. 6.4\%, p=0.0001). In the overweight/obese group, fasting serum TSH concentrations were associated positively with BMI SDS (p<0.0001) and waist-height ratio (WHtR) (p<0.0001) independent of age, sex, and pubertal developmental stage, whereas fasting serum fT4 concentrations were associated positively only with WHtR. The odds ratio of exhibiting SH was 1.8 when being overweight/obese compared with lean (p=0.0007) and 1.8 when presenting with a WHtR >0.5 (p=0.0003). Conclusion: The prevalence of SH was higher among overweight/obese study participants. The positive correlations of circulating TSH and fT4 with WHtR suggest that central obesity, independent of the overall degree of obesity, augments the risk of concurrent thyroid abnormalities in children and adolescents with obesity.",

keywords = "Childhood obesity, Thyroid hormones, Waist-height ratio",

author = "Maria Dahl and Ohrt, \{Johanne Dam\} and Fonvig, \{Cilius Esmann\} and Kloppenborg, \{Julie Tonsgaard\} and Oluf Pedersen and Torben Hansen and Holm, \{Jens Christian\}",

year = "2017",

month = mar,

doi = "10.4274/jcrpe.3319",

language = "English",

volume = "9",

pages = "8--16",

journal = "JCRPE Journal of Clinical Research in Pediatric Endocrinology",

issn = "1308-5727",

publisher = "Galenos Publishing House",

number = "1",

}

TY - JOUR

T1 - Subclinical hypothyroidism in danish lean and obese children and adolescents

AU - Dahl, Maria

AU - Ohrt, Johanne Dam

AU - Fonvig, Cilius Esmann

AU - Kloppenborg, Julie Tonsgaard

AU - Pedersen, Oluf

AU - Hansen, Torben

AU - Holm, Jens Christian

PY - 2017/3

Y1 - 2017/3

N2 - Objective: Thyroid abnormalities are common in obese children. The aim of the present study was to examine the prevalence of subclinical hypothyroidism (SH) and to determine how circulating thyroid hormone concentrations correlate with anthropometrics in Danish lean and obese children and adolescents. Methods: In this cross-sectional study, we included 3006 children and adolescents, aged 6-18 years, from the Registry of the Danish Childhood Obesity Biobank. The overweight/obese group (n=1796) consisted of study participants with a body mass index (BMI) standard deviation score (SDS) ≥1.28. The control group (n=1210) comprised lean children with a BMI SDS <1.28. All participants were characterized by anthropometrics (weight, height, and waist circumference) and fasting serum concentrations of thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH), free triiodothyronine, and free thyroxine (fT4) at baseline. Results: The prevalence of SH was higher among overweight/obese compared to lean study participants (10.4% vs. 6.4%, p=0.0001). In the overweight/obese group, fasting serum TSH concentrations were associated positively with BMI SDS (p<0.0001) and waist-height ratio (WHtR) (p<0.0001) independent of age, sex, and pubertal developmental stage, whereas fasting serum fT4 concentrations were associated positively only with WHtR. The odds ratio of exhibiting SH was 1.8 when being overweight/obese compared with lean (p=0.0007) and 1.8 when presenting with a WHtR >0.5 (p=0.0003). Conclusion: The prevalence of SH was higher among overweight/obese study participants. The positive correlations of circulating TSH and fT4 with WHtR suggest that central obesity, independent of the overall degree of obesity, augments the risk of concurrent thyroid abnormalities in children and adolescents with obesity.

AB - Objective: Thyroid abnormalities are common in obese children. The aim of the present study was to examine the prevalence of subclinical hypothyroidism (SH) and to determine how circulating thyroid hormone concentrations correlate with anthropometrics in Danish lean and obese children and adolescents. Methods: In this cross-sectional study, we included 3006 children and adolescents, aged 6-18 years, from the Registry of the Danish Childhood Obesity Biobank. The overweight/obese group (n=1796) consisted of study participants with a body mass index (BMI) standard deviation score (SDS) ≥1.28. The control group (n=1210) comprised lean children with a BMI SDS <1.28. All participants were characterized by anthropometrics (weight, height, and waist circumference) and fasting serum concentrations of thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH), free triiodothyronine, and free thyroxine (fT4) at baseline. Results: The prevalence of SH was higher among overweight/obese compared to lean study participants (10.4% vs. 6.4%, p=0.0001). In the overweight/obese group, fasting serum TSH concentrations were associated positively with BMI SDS (p<0.0001) and waist-height ratio (WHtR) (p<0.0001) independent of age, sex, and pubertal developmental stage, whereas fasting serum fT4 concentrations were associated positively only with WHtR. The odds ratio of exhibiting SH was 1.8 when being overweight/obese compared with lean (p=0.0007) and 1.8 when presenting with a WHtR >0.5 (p=0.0003). Conclusion: The prevalence of SH was higher among overweight/obese study participants. The positive correlations of circulating TSH and fT4 with WHtR suggest that central obesity, independent of the overall degree of obesity, augments the risk of concurrent thyroid abnormalities in children and adolescents with obesity.

KW - Childhood obesity

KW - Thyroid hormones

KW - Waist-height ratio

UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/85014801433

U2 - 10.4274/jcrpe.3319

DO - 10.4274/jcrpe.3319

M3 - Article

C2 - 27611730

AN - SCOPUS:85014801433

SN - 1308-5727

VL - 9

SP - 8

EP - 16

JO - JCRPE Journal of Clinical Research in Pediatric Endocrinology

JF - JCRPE Journal of Clinical Research in Pediatric Endocrinology

IS - 1

ER -

Subclinical hypothyroidism in danish lean and obese children and adolescents

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