J Korean Surg Soc.  2012 Jan;82(1):13-17. 10.4174/jkss.2012.82.1.13.

Body size and thyroid nodules in healthy Korean population

• Kim JY
• Jung EJ
• Park ST
• Jeong SH
• Jeong CY
• Ju YT
• Lee YJ
• Hong SC
• Choi SK
• Ha WS

• KMID: 1437750
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.4174/jkss.2012.82.1.13

Abstract

PURPOSE
Excess weight and obesity have been associated with numerous diseases including thyroid cancer, but the relationship has been weak. The objective of this study was to evaluate the relationship of body sizes on thyroid nodules in healthy Korean population.
METHODS
A total of 7,763 persons who underwent a health examination in our health examination center were included in this study. The epidemiologic factors, body size and thyroid ultrasound results were reviewed. We investigated the effects of body size on the presence of thyroid nodules and malignancy.
RESULTS
The incidence of thyroid nodules was 20.6%. In the group who were found to have thyroid nodules, mean height, weight and body surface area (BSA) were significantly smaller compared to the others. Especially, in the women, smaller height (less than 160 cm) and overweight (> or = 60 kg) were identified as independent risk factors for the presence of thyroid nodules. The patients with body mass index (BMI) subgroups of normal or overweight had a tendency to have thyroid nodules more frequently. The detection rate of thyroid cancer was 0.47%. The patients with thyroid cancer tended to be smaller in height and BSA than the others.
CONCLUSION
A higher frequency of thyroid nodules was associated with women and, older age. In women, there were significant correlations in height, weight and BMI subgroups to the presence of thyroid nodules.

Keyword

Thyroid nodule; Body mass index; Body surface area

MeSH Terms

Body Mass Index
Body Size
Body Surface Area
Epidemiologic Factors
Female
Humans
Incidence
Obesity
Overweight
Risk Factors
Thyroid Gland
Thyroid Neoplasms
Thyroid Nodule

Reference

1. Flegal KM, Carroll MD, Ogden CL, Curtin LR. Prevalence and trends in obesity among US adults, 1999-2008. JAMA. 2010. 303:235–241.

2. Renehan AG, Tyson M, Egger M, Heller RF, Zwahlen M. Body-mass index and incidence of cancer: a systematic review and meta-analysis of prospective observational studies. Lancet. 2008. 371:569–578.

3. Engeland A, Tretli S, Akslen LA, Bjørge T. Body size and thyroid cancer in two million Norwegian men and women. Br J Cancer. 2006. 95:366–370.

4. Goodman MT, Kolonel LN, Wilkens LR. The association of body size, reproductive factors and thyroid cancer. Br J Cancer. 1992. 66:1180–1184.

5. Mack WJ, Preston-Martin S, Bernstein L, Qian D. Lifestyle and other risk factors for thyroid cancer in Los Angeles County females. Ann Epidemiol. 2002. 12:395–401.

6. Paes JE, Hua K, Nagy R, Kloos RT, Jarjoura D, Ringel MD. The relationship between body mass index and thyroid cancer pathology features and outcomes: a clinicopathological cohort study. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2010. 95:4244–4250.

7. Ron E, Kleinerman RA, Boice JD Jr, LiVolsi VA, Flannery JT, Fraumeni JF Jr. A population-based case-control study of thyroid cancer. J Natl Cancer Inst. 1987. 79:1–12.

8. Suzuki T, Matsuo K, Hasegawa Y, Hiraki A, Kawase T, Tanaka H, et al. Anthropometric factors at age 20 years and risk of thyroid cancer. Cancer Causes Control. 2008. 19:1233–1242.

9. Obesity: preventing and managing the global epidemic. Report of a WHO consultation. World Health Organ Tech Rep Ser. 2000. 894:i–xii. 1–253.

10. American Thyroid Association (ATA) Guidelines Taskforce on Thyroid Nodules and Differentiated Thyroid Cancer. Cooper DS, Doherty GM, Haugen BR, Kloos RT, Lee SL, et al. Revised American Thyroid Association management guidelines for patients with thyroid nodules and differentiated thyroid cancer. Thyroid. 2009. 19:1167–1214.

11. Franceschi S, Boyle P, Maisonneuve P, La Vecchia C, Burt AD, Kerr DJ, et al. The epidemiology of thyroid carcinoma. Crit Rev Oncog. 1993. 4:25–52.

12. Mandel SJ. A 64-year-old woman with a thyroid nodule. JAMA. 2004. 292:2632–2642.

13. Hegedüs L. Clinical practice. The thyroid nodule. N Engl J Med. 2004. 351:1764–1771.

14. Iribarren C, Haselkorn T, Tekawa IS, Friedman GD. Cohort study of thyroid cancer in a San Francisco Bay area population. Int J Cancer. 2001. 93:745–750.

15. Dal Maso L, La Vecchia C, Franceschi S, Preston-Martin S, Ron E, Levi F, et al. A pooled analysis of thyroid cancer studies. V. Anthropometric factors. Cancer Causes Control. 2000. 11:137–144.

16. Sung J, Song YM, Lawlor DA, Smith GD, Ebrahim S. Height and site-specific cancer risk: a cohort study of a korean adult population. Am J Epidemiol. 2009. 170:53–64.

17. Mijović T, How J, Pakdaman M, Rochon L, Gologan O, Hier MP, et al. Body mass index in the evaluation of thyroid cancer risk. Thyroid. 2009. 19:467–472.

18. Calle EE, Thun MJ. Obesity and cancer. Oncogene. 2004. 23:6365–6378.

19. Bianchini F, Kaaks R, Vainio H. Overweight, obesity, and cancer risk. Lancet Oncol. 2002. 3:565–574.

20. Leitzmann MF, Brenner A, Moore SC, Koebnick C, Park Y, Hollenbeck A, et al. Prospective study of body mass index, physical activity and thyroid cancer. Int J Cancer. 2010. 126:2947–2956.