Korean J Obes.  2015 Dec;24(4):212-218. 10.7570/kjo.2015.24.4.212.

Negative Association between Obesity Index and Thyroid Hormones in Euthyroid Children

• Baik SJ
• Park BH
• Lee HA
• Kim HS
• Hong YS
• Park H

• KMID: 2133215
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.7570/kjo.2015.24.4.212

Abstract

BACKGROUND
The number of obese people is increasing worldwide; in particular, childhood obesity is becoming a major problem. Obesity elevates the risk of various endocrine-metabolic diseases, and it was recently reported that there was a correlation between obesity and thyroid hormone level. The present study aimed to investigate the correlation between the obesity index and thyroid hormone level in healthy children with normal thyroid function.
METHODS
The study subjects included children 7-12 years of age with normal thyroid function who participated in follow-up observations from 2011 to 2014 as participants in the Ewha Infant Growth Cohort (2001-2006). Subjects with a body mass index (BMI) > or =85th percentile were classified in the overweight group for the analysis (37 subjects, 14.5%).
RESULTS
No significant differences in thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) or free thyroxine (FT4) levels were observed between the overweight and normal groups containing a total of 256 children (122 boys, 134 girls). Waist circumference, BMI z score, and WHtR were negatively correlated with TSH levels after adjusting for age, sex, birth weight and puberty status (P=0.03, P=0.04, P=0.05). However other obesity index did not show any relationship with TSH or FT4 levels.
CONCLUSION
In children with normal thyroid function, waist circumference and BMI z score showed a negative correlation with TSH levels.

Keyword

Obesity; Children; Thyroid hormones; Puberty

MeSH Terms

Adolescent
Birth Weight
Body Mass Index
Child*
Cohort Studies
Follow-Up Studies
Humans
Infant
Obesity*
Overweight
Pediatric Obesity
Puberty
Thyroid Gland*
Thyroid Hormones*
Thyrotropin
Thyroxine
Waist Circumference
Thyroid Hormones
Thyrotropin
Thyroxine