Endocrine Abstracts

Several studies have reported that TSH is positively correlated with obesity, dyslipidaemia, and impaired glucose metabolism even in normal range limits. We aimed to evaluate the TSH levels in a cohort of otherwise healthy obese women without clinical evidence of thyroid dysfunction.

Materials and methods: 127 female patients were enrolled in this study. Anthropometric and laboratory measurements were retrospectively analysed. Patients were divided into subgroups according to BMIs.

Results: Groups were age-matched. No statistically significant correlation was found between TSH and BMI, HOMA-IR, triglyseride, HDL, or LDL values. But a significant positive correlation between TSH and cortisol levels was revealed (P=0.000). As expected, HOMA-IR and triglyseride values were positively, HDL levels were negatively correlated with BMI (P<0.05).

Conclusion: In our euthyroid cohort, we did not found any significant association between plasma TSH levels and obesity. However, the positive relationship between TSH and cortisol is a compelling finding. It’s known that overt hypothyroidism is associated with frankly elevated cortisol levels. But our study finding suggested a correlation within normal range limits and requires further investigations in order to better understand the mechanisms involved in the TSH–cortisol relationship.