Effect of BMI, age, and gender on thyroid profile and the distribution of thyroid dysfunction in healthy Iraqi adults
Department of Pathological Analyses, Faculty of Science, University of Kufa, Iraq.
Research Article
Open Access Research Journal of Multidisciplinary Studies, 2025, 09(01), 020-026.
Article DOI: 10.53022/oarjms.2025.9.1.0016
Publication history:
Received on 22 December 2024; revised on 28 January 2025; accepted on 31 January 2025
Abstract:
This study aimed to investigate the relationship between thyroid hormone, body mass index, age and gender in an Iraqi population sample of 177 healthy individuals. Results: The study showed that the majority of participants were female (89.3%) compared to males (10.7%). A significant proportion of the total participants were found to be obese (57.1%). We also found that older adults had higher levels (p = 0.011) of thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) while there was no significant relationship between T4 (0.271) and T3 (0.537) and age. Women were found to have higher levels (p = 0.034) of thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) and lower levels of active thyroid hormones (T4 (p < 0.001) and T3 (p = 0.006)) compared to men. We also found that TSH levels were significantly and gradually increased in overweight and obese individuals compared to normal individuals, and the highest increase in TSH levels was found between the normal weight and obese groups (p < 0.001). While total T3 and total T4 were found to decrease gradually and significantly, the highest decrease in total T3 (p < 0.007) and total T4 (p < 0.011) levels was observed between the normal weight and obese groups. Our results also showed that BMI was the best predictor of thyroid hormone levels (p = 0.000) when using the ROC curve, with an area under the curve (AUC) of 0.805, followed by gender (p = 0.002) with an AUC value of 0.719. However, age did not appear to have any effect on the levels of the thyroid hormones under study (p = 0.063). Therefore, we focused on studying the relationship between obesity and hypothyroidism, where the association was positive with a value of 25.134, and individuals with hypothyroidism were more likely to be overweight (30.0%) or obese (70.0%). Conversely, individuals with hyperthyroidism were less likely to be obese (0.0%). Conclusion: These results suggest that factors such as obesity and gender play an important role in regulating thyroid function and emphasize the need for further studies to understand this relationship more deeply. These findings may help in developing better diagnostic and therapeutic strategies for thyroid disorders, especially in women and those with obesity. Regular thyroid screening is recommended for all individuals regardless of their health status, especially those with specific risk factors.
Keywords:
BMI; Gender; Age; Thyroid Profile; Thyroid Dysfunction; Healthy; Iraq
Full text article in PDF:
Copyright information:
Copyright © 2025 Author(s) retain the copyright of this article. This article is published under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Liscense 4.0