J Menopausal Med.  2016 Dec;22(3):146-153. 10.6118/jmm.2016.22.3.146.

Serum Thyroid Stimulating Hormone Levels Are Associated with the Presence of Coronary Atherosclerosis in Healthy Postmenopausal Women

• Chon SJ
• Heo JY
• Yun BH
• Jung YS
• Seo SK

• KMID: 2378234
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.6118/jmm.2016.22.3.146

Abstract

OBJECTIVES
Menopause is a natural aging process causing estrogen deficiency, accelerating atherogenic processes including dyslipidemia. Prevalence of thyroid dysfunction is also high in postmenopausal women, and it is known to elevate the risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD). Therefore, we are to study on the associations in between serum thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) and prevalence of CVD in postmenopausal women who have normal thyroid function.
METHODS
We performed a retrospective review of 247 Korean postmenopausal women who visited the health promotion center from January, 2007 to December, 2009. Postmenopausal women with normal serum TSH were included in the study. Coronary atherosclerosis was assessed by 64-row multidetector computed tomography.
RESULTS
In multiple linear regression analysis, serum TSH was associated with serum triglyceride (TG) (β = 0.146, P = 0.023). In multiple logistic regression analysis, increasing age and serum TSH were associated with an increased risk of coronary atherosclerosis in euthyroid postmenopausal women (odds ratio [OR] = 1.107 [1.024-1.197], P = 0.011 and OR = 1.303 [1.024-1.658], P = 0.031, respectively).
CONCLUSIONS
It revealed that significant predictor of serum TSH was serum TG, and increasing age and TSH were found to have associations with an increased risk of coronary atherosclerosis in euthyroid postmenopausal women. Screening and assessing risks for CVD in healthy postmenopausal women would be helpful before atherosclerosis develops.

Keyword

Cardiovascular diseases; Coronary artery disease; Postmenopause; Thyrotropin

MeSH Terms

Aging
Atherosclerosis
Cardiovascular Diseases
Coronary Artery Disease*
Dyslipidemias
Estrogens
Female
Health Promotion
Humans
Linear Models
Logistic Models
Mass Screening
Menopause
Multidetector Computed Tomography
Postmenopause
Prevalence
Retrospective Studies
Thyroid Gland*
Thyrotropin*
Triglycerides
Estrogens
Thyrotropin

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