Endocrine Abstracts

Despite the fact that iodine deficiency (ID) can easily be prevented by iodine fortification of table salt, industrial salt and cattle food, Europe belongs to the worst regions in terms of access to iodized salt and is seriously iodine deficient, resulting in the perpetuation of the single most important, preventable cause of brain damage. Up to an estimated 360 million European citizens are exposed to ID, which is not only due to variable iodine provision, it is also rooted i...

There is controversy on the upper thyrotropin (TSH) reference level. Currently available studies are based on cross-sectional data leaving uncertainty about the prognostic significance of the upper TSH reference level. Studies establishing TSH reference values should be evaluated using strict quality criteria including population representativeness and sample size. In addition, not only subjects with known thyroid disorder, but also those with subclinical disorders including g...

Background: Given the general lack of descriptive epidemiological studies on thyroid storm, we aimed to estimate the incidence rate and case fatality of thyroid storm in Germany based on a large claims database.Methods: Using the German Pharmacoepidemiological Research Database (GePaRD) we identified patients with at least one inpatient discharge diagnosis of thyroid storm (International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems,...

Objective: The majority of circulating testosterone is bound to sex hormone-binding globulin (SHBG), but also to albumin and cortisol-binding globulin. The remaining part is free-circulating testosterone unattached to serum proteins, which represents the active form of the hormone. A common measurement of the free testosterone is the calculated free testosterone index (FTI)=100*(total testosterone/SHBG). Testosterone is the principal male sex hormone and is involved in the reg...

Context: Previous studies suggest that total testosterone levels influences lipid metabolism. It has not been investigated whether these levels are prospectively associated with an unfavourable lipid profile including increased risk of incident dyslipidemia.Design and setting: We used data of 1468 men aged 20–79 years, repeatedly examined in the population-based Study of Health in Pomerania. Serum total testosterone levels, measured by chemiluminesc...

Background: Obesity is a major risk factor for the development of chronic diseases and a determinant of cardiovascular disease. Divergent associations between obesity and hormonal changes have been reported. The objective of the present study was to analyse the associations between different anthropometric measurements and serum hormone levels including insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1), thyroid-stimulation hormone (TSH), prolactin, and testosterone.M...

Background: Acromegaly is associated with increased morbidity and mortality from cardiovascular disease. Several studies indicate that reduction of growth hormone (GH) to <1 μg/l or normalization of serum IGF-I reduces mortality to expected levels. Inflammatory markers, such as C-reactive protein (CRP) or haemostatic markers, such as fibrinogen have emerged as important cardiovascular risk markers in the general population.Objective and design: ...

Background, objective: Adipose tissue is known to secrete a multitude of bioactive adipokines and it seems that the majority of these adipokines is implicated in the pathogenesis of obesity and associated metabolic diseases. Existing research studies mostly concentrated on one or two adipokines and therefore, comparisons of the involvement of different adipokines in these disorders are difficult. Furthermore, associations of circulating adipokine levels with different fat comp...

Background: Prospective studies showed that low serum testosterone concentrations are associated with various cardiometabolic risk factors and mortality. But the causal nature of these associations is controversial.Methods: We studied 1882 men aged 20–79 years with serum testosterone concentrations and genotyping data from the longitudinal population-based Study of Health in Pomerania.Testosterone concentrations were cross-sec...

Aim: The aim of this analysis was to determine whether low serum testosterone (T) and dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate (DHEAS) levels predict the development of metabolic syndrome (MetS) in men.Methods: Data were obtained from the Study of Health in Pomerania (SHIP), a population-based prospective cohort of adults aged 20–79 at baseline. Analyses were conducted in 1004 men without baseline MetS, defined by National Cholesterol Education Program Adult ...