Correction of Hypothyroidism Seems to Have No Effect on Body Fat
Open accessAbstract
Aim. We aimed to observe the effects of L-thyroxine replacement therapy on body fat content determined with various anthropometric methods and a bioelectrical impedance analysis method in patients with hypothyroidism.Methods. Forty-two women with naive autoimmune hypothyroidism were included. Also, 40 healthy participants were enrolled as a control group. Weight, body mass index, waist circumference, and subscapulary, suprailiac, femur, biceps, and triceps skin fold thicknesses were measured. Body fat percentages were calculated and body fat measurements were performed. Euthyroidism was maintained with L-thyroxine. At the 6th and 18th month, of therapy, measurements were reperformed.Results. Mean TSH levels were mIU/L in hypothyroid group and mIU/L in control subjects at admission. In hypothyroid patients, calculated body fat percentages were greater than those of the control subjects during follow-up. Body fat percentage of each hypothyroid case decreased at 6- and 18-month controls, but the decrements were statistically insignificant. Although skin fold thicknesses measured from all sites were observed to decline, only those obtained from femur and biceps showed a significant decrease ( and , resp.).Discussion. Correction of hypothyroidism did not cause any improvement in body weight and body fat percentage. The decrease in skin fold thicknesses might probably result from the reduction in subcutaneous mucopolysaccharide deposits.
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Normalisation of TSH with LT4 did not affect body fat percentage significantly in women with hypothyroidism.
“A study in women with hypothyroidism showed that normalisation of TSH with LT4 did not affect body fat percentage significantly”
From Pharmacodynamic and Therapeutic Actions of Levothyroxine (2021) · cites this paper as [49]
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- Authors
- Bakiner, O., Bozkirli, E., Ersozlu Bozkirli, E. D., & Ozsahin, K.
- Affiliations
- Department of Endocrinology and Metabolism Diseases, School of Medicine, Başkent University, 01250 Adana, Turkey
- Department of Internal Medicine, School of Medicine, Başkent University, 01250 Adana, Turkey
- Department of Family Medicine, School of Medicine, Başkent University, 01250 Adana, Turkey
- ORCID
- Ozsahin, Kursat
- Venue
- International Journal of Endocrinology
- Publisher
- Wiley
- Published
- 2013
- Volume
- 2013
- Pages
- 1-5
- ISSN
- 1687-8337 (ISSN-L)
- 1687-8345
- PMC
- PMC3789500
- OpenAlex
- W2127920367
- Cited by
- 14
- References
- 25
- Citations by year
- 2026: 2 · 2025: 2 · 2024: 1 · 2023: 2 · 2022: 2 · 2021: 1 · 2020: 2 · 2019: 1 · 2018: 1
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- gold
- doi.org
- Locations
- International Journal of Endocrinology (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism › Thyroid Disorders and Treatments
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Surgery › Thyroid and Parathyroid Surgery
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Physiology › Body Composition Measurement Techniques
- Keywords
- hypothyroidism, fat mass, body fat percentage, skinfold thickness, autoimmune hypothyroidism, thyroid-stimulating hormone, body mass index, women
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