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

TITLE=Associations Between Thyroid Volume and Physical Growth in Pubertal Girls: Thyroid Volume Indexes Need to Be Applied to Thyroid Volume Assessments

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Endocrinology

VOLUME=12

YEAR=2021

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/endocrinology/articles/10.3389/fendo.2021.662543

DOI=10.3389/fendo.2021.662543

ISSN=1664-2392

ABSTRACT=<sec><title>Background</title><p>Thyroid volume (Tvol) is associated with many factors, but the current reference values for Tvol in children with sufficient iodine intake are inappropriate and need to be updated. Moderate changes in thyroid morphology and accentuated increases in body fat percentage occur during puberty as an adaption of the body and sexual development occurs. This study aimed to evaluate the influences of physical growth on Tvol and propose an easily applicable method for conducting Tvol assessments in pubertal girls with sufficient iodine intake.</p><sec><title>Methods</title><p>A cohort study was conducted on 481 pubertal girls in East China from 2017 to 2019. B-ultrasound was used to assess Tvol. Multiple linear regression models were used to estimate the associations of Tvol enlargement (<italic>d</italic>Tvol) with changes in height (<italic>d</italic>H), weight (<italic>d</italic>W), waist circumference (<italic>d</italic>W), body mass index (<italic>d</italic>BMI), and body surface area (<italic>d</italic>BSA). Thyroid volume indexes (TVIs), including height thyroid volume index (HVI), weight and height thyroid volume index (WHVI), body mass index thyroid index (BMIV), and body surface area thyroid index (BSAV), were calculated to explore an appropriate method for Tvol assessments by Spearman correlation analyses.</p></sec></sec><sec><title>Results</title><p>Tvol, height, weight, BMI, and BSA increased significantly from baseline to follow-up (<italic>P</italic>&lt;0.001). The associations between <italic>d</italic>Tvol and physical growth were only observed in the 13 to 14-year-old group. <italic>d</italic>H, <italic>d</italic>W,<italic>d</italic>BMI, and <italic>d</italic>BSA were positively related to <italic>d</italic>Tvol, with the maximum β of 5.74 (95%CI: 2.54 to 8.94) on <italic>d</italic>BSA, while <italic>d</italic>WC was negatively related to <italic>d</italic>Tvol (β= -0.05, 95%CI: -0.08 to -0.03). Both <italic>d</italic>HVI and <italic>d</italic>BSAV were not associated with <italic>d</italic>H, <italic>d</italic>W, <italic>d</italic>BMI, or <italic>d</italic>BSA in both age groups (<italic>P</italic>&gt;0.05).</p></sec><sec><title>Conclusions</title><p>Thyroid volume was associated with physical growth in pubertal girls in East China, both age and anthropometric measurements must be comprehensively considered to establish the reference values for Tvol. HVI, and BSAV may be better indicators for Tvol assessments in pubertal girls.</p></sec>