Subclinical hypothyroidism has no association with insulin resistance indices in adult females: A case‑control study

Stoica,Roxana Adriana; Ancuceanu,Robert; Costache,Adrian; Ștefan,Simona Diana; Stoian,Anca Pantea; Guja,Cristian; Staden,Raluca Ioana Stefan‑Van; Popa‑Tudor,Ioana; Serafinceanu,Cristian; Ionescu‑Tîrgoviște,Constantin

doi:10.3892/etm.2021.10465

Subclinical hypothyroidism has no association with insulin resistance indices in adult females: A case‑control study

Authors:
- Roxana Adriana Stoica
- Robert Ancuceanu
- Adrian Costache
- Simona Diana Ștefan
- Anca Pantea Stoian
- Cristian Guja
- Raluca Ioana Stefan‑Van Staden
- Ioana Popa‑Tudor
- Cristian Serafinceanu
- Constantin Ionescu‑Tîrgoviște
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Affiliations: Department of Diabetes, Nutrition and Metabolic Diseases, ‘Carol Davila’ University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 050474 Bucharest, Romania, Department of Botanical Pharmaceutics, ‘Carol Davila’ University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 020956 Bucharest, Romania, Department of Pathology, ‘Carol Davila’ University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 020021 Bucharest, Romania, Laboratory of Electrochemistry and PATLAB, National Institute of Research for Electrochemistry and Condensed Matter, 060021 Bucharest, Romania
Published online on: July 19, 2021 https://doi.org/10.3892/etm.2021.10465
Article Number: 1033

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Abstract

Longitudinal studies have indicated an association between thyroid function and insulin resistance (IR) or a neutral relationship. Both the lowest tertile of free thyroxine (fT4) and the highest tertile of free triiodothyronine (fT3) were found to be associated with IR in cross‑sectional studies. The aim of the present study was to analyze the association between IR and subclinical hypothyroidism in a female adult population from Bucharest, Romania. This is a retrospective pilot case‑control study that included female patients examined by two endocrinologists and a diabetologist in an outpatient clinic. The retrospective follow‑up had a one‑year duration and included the evaluation of thyroid function tests and IR indices based on fasting insulinemia and C‑peptide. The study included 176 women, 91 with subclinical hypothyroidism, with a median age of 60±17 years and a mean body mass index (BMI) of 27.79±4.76 kg/m². The majority of the population (50%) was diagnosed with autoimmune thyroiditis, and 17.05% with goitre. The univariate logistic regression using hypothyroidism as the explaining variable found no evidence of a significant relationship between a decreased thyroid function and IR (OR 1.32; P=0.36). Metabolic syndrome was probably the most important determinant of IR in the population group studied. Thus, it was not the thyroid function per se, but the coexistence of other elements of this syndrome that prevailed in determining IR. Advantages to the study are the design that permitted evaluation of IR and the thyroid function at different moments in time as well as the uniformity of the blood tests. The multivariate analyses were adjusted for age, lipid profile and treatment; however, one limiting factor was the absence of other hormonal blood tests. In summary, there was no association between the thyroid function tests (TSH, fT4) and IR indices in adult Romanian women in a case‑control study with one‑year retrospective follow‑up.

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