A study of correlation between thyrotropin and body mass index in euthyroid subjects

Objective: To investigate the relationship between circulating Thyroid Stimulating Hormone level and adiposity in a cohort of people having normal thyroid function. Methods: Retrospective cross-sectional analysis was carried out on 104 Euthyroid female patients. Forty Euthyroid females with (BMI <23 kg/m2) and Sixty four Euthyroid females with (BMI >23 kg/m2 subjects were included in the study group. TSH, Thyroxine (T4), Triiodothyronine (T3), fasting glucose, Total cholesterol, Triglyceride, High Density lipoprotein-Cholesterol, body weight, height and Body Mass Index (BMI) were assessed. Results: Serum TSH levels were higher in the obese than in the lean Euthyroid subjects. In the study group II, there was a significant positive correlation between serum TSH and body weight (r = 0.43, p =0.0003), BMI (r = 0.53, p=0.0001).There was also positive correlation between serum TSH and Total Cholesterol, Triglyceride but statistically not significant. Conclusions: This study strongly supports evidence that serum TSH levels are positively correlated with the degree of obesity and some of its metabolic consequences in overweight people with normal thyroid function.