AUTHOR=Wang Yingying , Dong Xiaolian , Fu Chaowei , Su Meifang , Jiang Feng , Xu Dongli , Li Rui , Qian Junhua , Wang Na , Chen Yue , Jiang Qingwu 

TITLE=Thyroid Stimulating Hormone (TSH) Is Associated With General and Abdominal Obesity: A Cohort Study in School-Aged Girls During Puberty in East China

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Endocrinology

VOLUME=11

YEAR=2020

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/endocrinology/articles/10.3389/fendo.2020.00620

DOI=10.3389/fendo.2020.00620

ISSN=1664-2392

ABSTRACT=<p><bold>Objectives:</bold> Although the association between thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) and obesity in children has been investigated in several cross-sectional studies, no study evaluated this association among girls during puberty, which were in a key period closely related to the fluctuations of thyroid hormones and development of obesity. Therefore, we conducted a cohort study to investigate the association of general and abdominal obesity with TSH in girls during puberty.</p><p><bold>Setting and participants:</bold> A cohort study of 481 school-aged girls during puberty was conducted in four regions in east China, with a baseline survey in 2017 and a follow-up survey in 2019.</p><p><bold>Outcome measures:</bold> Anthropometric indexes including height, weight and waist circumference (WC) were measured, and body mass index (BMI) was then calculated. Blood samples were collected to determine TSH and free thyroxine (FT4).</p><p><bold>Results:</bold> Of the 474 girls at baseline survey, the prevalences of BMI-based general obesity and WC-based abdominal obesity were 19.8% (94/474) and 21.7% (103/474), respectively. Compared with normal weight girls, the median serum TSH level was significantly higher in general obese girls (<italic>P</italic> = 0.037), but not in central obese girls (<italic>P</italic> = 0.173). Multiple logistic regression models indicated that those in the highest tertile of serum TSH level had a significantly higher risk of BMI-based overweight/obesity (OR = 1.83, 95% CI 1.01 to 3.32) compared with the lowest tertile. Analyses from 435 girls prospectively followed-up for 2 years revealed that those with general or central obesity also had higher follow-up TSH level (<italic>P</italic> = 0.004 and <italic>P</italic> = 0.008, respectively). The TSH level for girls with general obesity at baseline but normal weight at follow-up was 0.45 mU/L (95% CI 0.11 to 0.79) higher than those with normal weight at baseline and follow-up.</p><p><bold>Conclusions:</bold> TSH was positively associated with both general and abdominal obesity among girls during puberty.</p>