Association between free thyroid hormones values and the lipid profile in middle-aged women with chronic symptoms

Aims

To determine the association between the thyroid hormones(FT3, FT4 and TSH) and the lipid profile markers(HDL-c, LDL-c and triglycerides) values in middle-aged women with no metabolic disorders and recurrent chronic symptomatology.

Materials and Methods

We carried out an analytical cross-sectional study in euthyroid women with recurrent chronic symptoms of at least six months with no apparent diagnosis who attended the endocrinological gynaecology outpatient service of a private clinic in Lima-Peru during 2012–2014. Participants who met the eligibility criteria were evaluated according to their thyroid hormones(FT3, FT4 and TSH) and lipid profile markers(HDL-c, LDL-c and triglycerides) values. We elaborated univariate/multivariate linear regression models to evaluate the association between the thyroid markers and the lipid profile levels. The reported association measure was the beta coefficient(β) with its respective p-value.

Results

We analyzed 211 participants, the average age was 44.9?±?14.0(SD) years, the FT3 and FT4 mean levels were 3.2?±?0.4?pg/mL and 1.2?±?0.2?ng/dL respectively, while the TSH median was 2.8(IQR:1.9–4.0) μU/mL. The mean or median levels of LDL-c, HDL-c and triglycerides were of 137.5?±?37.9?mg/dL, 54.0?±?15.0?mg/dL and 118.5(IQR:79.5–169.5) mg/dL respectively. In the multivariate linear regression model between the FT3 and LDL-c levels, we found that for each increase in a FT3 unit, the LDL-c values decreased on average 30.85?mg/dL(p?

Conclusion

We found an inverse association between the FT3 and LDL-c values in women with chronic gynaecological symptoms.