Thyroid Stimulating Hormone (TSH) is Associated with General and Abdominal Obesity in Girls During Puberty

Background: Childhood obesity is an important public health issue. Although both thyroid hormone and menarche are known to play a role in body metabolism and energy expenditure, evidence for these associations in girls around puberty was limited. This study was aimed to investigate the association of TSH with general and abdominal obesity in girls during puberty. Methods: A multi-stage cluster sampling method was used to select one junior middle school from each of 4 study areas: Minhang District in Shanghai, Haimen City in Jiangsu Province, Yuhuan City and Deqing County in Zhejiang Province. A total of 474 girls aged 11 to 14 years from 4 schools were enrolled. Information on demographic factors and puberty stage were collected, and anthropometric measurements and thyroid hormones were determined. Multivariate logistic regression models were used to assess the associations of Thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) with the risk of obesity measured by body mess index (BMI) and waist circumference (WC). Results: Of the 474 girls, 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 mean serum TSH concentration was significantly higher in BMI-based general overweight or obese girls (P=0.037), but not in WC-based central overweight or obese girls (P=0.173). In the multiple logistic regression models, for girls with highest tertile of serum TSH concentration relative to those in the lowest tertile, the odds ratios were 2.63 (95% CI 1.34 to 5.14) and 2.53(95% CI 1.31 to 4.88) for overweight or obesity based on BMI and WC after adjustment for puberty stage and other covariates. Conclusions: Serum TSH concentration was positively associated with both general and abdominal obesity in school-age girls and the association was independent of puberty.