The DOI matches its Crossref record; 39 of the 39 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
Small Differences in Thyroid Function May Be Important for Body Mass Index and the Occurrence of Obesity in the Population
Abstract
CONTEXT: Increasing prevalence of overweight in the population is a major concern globally; and in the United States, nearly one third of adults were classified as obese at the end of the 20th century. Few data have been presented regarding an association between variations in thyroid function seen in the general population and body weight. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to investigate the association between thyroid function and body mass index (BMI) or obesity in a normal population. DESIGN: A cross-sectional population study (The DanThyr Study) was conducted. PARTICIPANTS: In all, 4649 participants were investigated, and 4082 were eligible for these analyses after exclusion of subjects with previous or present overt thyroid dysfunction. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: The study examined the association between category of serum TSH or serum thyroid hormones and BMI or obesity in multivariate models, adjusting for possible confounding. RESULTS: We found a positive association between BMI and category of serum TSH (P < 0.001) and a negative association between BMI and category of serum free T(4) (P < 0.001). No association was found between BMI and serum free T(3) levels. The difference in BMI between the groups with the highest and lowest serum TSH levels was 1.9 kg/m(2), corresponding to a difference in body weight of 5.5 kg among women. Similarly, the category of serum TSH correlated positively with weight gain during 5 yr (P = 0.04), but no statistically significant association was found with weight gain during 6 months (P = 0.17). There was an association between obesity (BMI > 30 kg/m(2)) and serum TSH levels (P = 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Our results suggest that thyroid function (also within the normal range) could be one of several factors acting in concert to determine body weight in a population. Even slightly elevated serum TSH levels are associated with an increase in the occurrence of obesity.
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“In contrast FT4 was strongly negatively associated with BMI [65].”
From Age-related variation in thyroid function – a narrative review highlighting important implications for research and clinical practice (2023) · cites this paper as [65]
In the citing paper
“Higher TSH levels were associated with increased BMI [65, 66], and in longitudinal studies, individuals with rising TSH levels over time exhibited greater weight gain [67, 68].”
From Age-related variation in thyroid function – a narrative review highlighting important implications for research and clinical practice (2023) · cites this paper as [65]
In the citing paper
“None have shown significant differences in these parameters compared to control subjects (47,48) or when LT4 doses were altered to lower TSH within the reference range (14,41).”
From Effects of levothyroxine replacement or suppressive therapy on energy expenditure and body composition (2016) · cites this paper as [41]
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“Although some believe that obesity is the result of long-term thyroid dysfunction (1, 2), others attribute thyroid hormonal changes to weight gain and obesity per se (3).”
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Thyroid and Parathyroid Considerations
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Metadata
- Authors
- Knudsen, N., Laurberg, P., Rasmussen, L. B., Bülow, I., Perrild, H., Ovesen, L., & Jørgensen, T.
- Affiliations
- Bispebjerg Hospital (DK)
- Aalborg University Hospital (DK)
- Corresponding author
- Knudsen, Nils
- Venue
- The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism
- Publisher
- The Endocrine Society
- Published
- 2005-07
- Volume
- 90
- Issue
- 7
- Pages
- 4019-4024
- ISSN
- 0021-972X (ISSN-L)
- 1945-7197
- OpenAlex
- W2133682334
- Semantic Scholar
- 20e3a19b8599c2b8587d25dfab6ed083b7ff3e0f
- Cited by
- 753
- References
- 39
- Citations by year
- 2026: 15 · 2025: 28 · 2024: 35 · 2023: 33 · 2022: 41 · 2021: 38 · 2020: 50 · 2019: 49 · 2018: 38 · 2017: 43 · 2016: 46 · 2015: 47 · 2014: 56 · 2013: 47 · 2012: 41
- FWCI
- 10.82
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Technical University of Denmark, DTU Orbit (Technical University of Denmark, DTU) (submittedVersion)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism › Thyroid Disorders and Treatments
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Endocrine and Autonomic Systems › Regulation of Appetite and Obesity
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism › Adipokines, Inflammation, and Metabolic Diseases
- Keywords
- thyroid function, body mass index, obesity, serum TSH, free thyroxine, free triiodothyronine, weight gain, subclinical thyroid dysfunction, healthy population
- MeSH terms
- Adolescent, Adult, Aged, Cross-Sectional Studies, Humans, Middle Aged, Obesity, Thyroid Hormones, Thyrotropin, Body Mass Index
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