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High levels of thyroid-stimulating hormone are associated with aortic wall thickness in the general population

  • Cardiac
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Abstract

Objectives

Our aim was to investigate the association of thyroid function defined by serum concentrations of thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) with thoracic aortic wall thickness (AWT) as a marker of atherosclerotic processes.

Methods

We pooled data of 2,679 individuals from two independent population-based surveys of the Study of Health in Pomerania. Aortic diameter and AWT measurements were performed on a 1.5-T MRI scanner at the concentration of the right pulmonary artery displaying the ascending and the descending aorta.

Results

TSH, treated as continuous variable, was significantly associated with descending AWT (β = 0.11; 95 % confidence interval (CI) 0.02–0.21), while the association with ascending AWT was not statistically significant (β = 0.20; 95 % CI −0.01–0.21). High TSH (>3.29 mIU/L) was significantly associated with ascending (β = 0.12; 95 % CI 0.02–0.23) but not with descending AWT (β = 0.06; 95 % CI −0.04–0.16). There was no consistent association between TSH and aortic diameters.

Conclusions

Our study demonstrated that AWT values increase with increasing serum TSH concentrations. Thus, a hypothyroid state may be indicative for aortic atherosclerosis. These results fit very well to the findings of previous studies pointing towards increased atherosclerotic risk in the hypothyroid state.

Key Points

• Serum TSH concentrations are positively associated with aortic wall thickness.

• Serum TSH concentrations are not associated with the aortic diameters.

• Serum 3,5-diiodothyronine concentrations may be positively associated with aortic wall thickness.

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Acknowledgments

The scientific guarantor of this publication is Henry Völzke. The authors of this manuscript declare relationships with the following companies: Siemens Healthcare, Erlangen, Germany. The study of Health in Pomeranie is part of the Community Medicince Research Network of the University of Medicine Greifswald, which was funded by the German Federal Ministry for Education and Research, the Ministry for Education, Research and Cultural Affairs, and the Ministriy for Social Affairs of the State Mecklenburg-West Pomerania. Analyses were further supported by the German Research Foundation (DFG VO955/10-2 and DFG-SPP 1629 ThyroidTransAct: DFG VO955/12-1 and DFG KO 922/16-1) and the BMELV. Till Ittermann has significant statistical expertise. Institutional Review Board approval was obtained. Written informed consent was obtained from all subjects in this study. Since SHIP-2 and SHIP-Trend-0 are population-based studies with a comprehensive examination programme, findings on other research topics have been previously reported from SHIP-Trend-0 and SHIP-2 data. However, this paper reports findings on the association between thyroid function and aortic atherosclerosis, a topic which has not been covered in previous manuscripts from SHIP-2 and SHIP-Trend. Methodology: cross-sectional population-based study.

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Author notes

    Authors and Affiliations

    1. Institute for Community Medicine, University Medicine Greifswald, Walther Rathenau Str. 48, D-17475, Greifswald, Germany

      Till Ittermann & Henry Völzke

    2. DZHK (German Center for Cardiovascular Research), partner site Greifswald, Greifswald, Germany

      Till Ittermann, Marcus Dörr & Henry Völzke

    3. Institute for Clinical Radiology, Ludwig-Maximilians-University Hospital Munich, Munich, Germany

      Roberto Lorbeer

    4. Department of Internal Medicine B – Cardiology, Intensive Care, Pulmonary Medicine and Infectious Diseases, University Medicine Greifswald, Greifswald, Germany

      Marcus Dörr

    5. Institute of Diagnostic Radiology and Neuroradiology, University Medicine Greifswald, Greifswald, Germany

      Tobias Schneider, Alexander Quadrat, Lydia Heßelbarth, Michael Wenzel & Birger Mensel

    6. Institut für Experimentelle Endokrinologie, Charité-Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Berlin, Germany

      Ina Lehmphul & Josef Köhrle

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    1. Till Ittermann
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    Correspondence to Till Ittermann.

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    Birger Mensel and Henry Völzke contributed equally to this work.

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    Ittermann, T., Lorbeer, R., Dörr, M. et al. High levels of thyroid-stimulating hormone are associated with aortic wall thickness in the general population. Eur Radiol 26, 4490–4496 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00330-016-4316-4

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    • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00330-016-4316-4

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