Top 5 online stories posted in June

Endocrine Today compiled a list of the top five thyroid news stories and videos posted over the past month.

Healio.com/Endocrinology readers were interested in elevated triglyceride levels, influence of body weight on insulin dose, and much more.

Elevated triglycerides ‘predominant marker’ for disrupted circadian rhythms in older

In older adults with overweight or obesity, elevated triglyceride levels are associated with increased circadian rhythm disruption, measured by reductions in both temperature amplitude and stability, according to findings published in the Journal of the Endocrine Society.

“Circadian rhythm disruption and metabolic syndrome are highly associated, but metabolic syndrome encompasses a variety of measurements, and it is still unclear how strongly each factor relates to temperature rhythms,” Brianna D. Harfmann, PhD, of the Barnstable Brown Diabetes and Obesity Center at the University of Kentucky in Lexington, and colleagues wrote. “Therefore, the goal of this study was to begin to identify which variables serve as the strongest predictors of two parameters of circadian rhythms, [temperature amplitude] and [temperature stability].” Read more.

Body weight may influence total daily insulin dose for optimal glycemic control

In Japanese adults with type 1 diabetes, body weight should be used to calculate total daily insulin dose, and the portion of total basal insulin dose to total daily insulin dose should be set at 30% to achieve an optimal HbA1c concentration of 7.5% or less, according to published results.

Eijiro Yamada, MD, PhD, of the department of medicine and molecular science at Gunma University Graduate School of Medicine, Japan, and colleagues evaluated 92 adults (mean age, 47 years) with type 1 diabetes to determine the insulin dose required to achieve an HbA1c concentration of 7.5% or less. Researchers compared body parameters and demographic factors in 39 participants with HbA1c 7.5% or less (well-controlled group) and 53 with HbA1c greater than 7% (poorly controlled group) to determine which factors contribute to optimal glycemic control. Read more.

Thyroid dysfunction increases cause-specific mortality risk in women

Women with hyperthyroidism have an increased risk for death from breast cancer, and women with hypothyroidism have an increased risk for death from diabetes and cardiovascular disease compared with women without thyroid disease, according to findings from a large, prospective 30-year follow-up study.

Cari M. Kitahara, PhD, of the radiation epidemiology branch, division of cancer epidemiology and genetics at the National Cancer Institute, and colleagues evaluated data from the U.S. Radiologic Technologists cohort study on 75,076 women to determine associations between self-reported hyperthyroidism or hypothyroidism and cause-specific mortality. Participants completed questionnaires at baseline (1983-1998) to gather information on medical history. Follow-up was a median 28 years, and participants were cancer free at baseline. Read more.

Canagliflozin reduces risk for CVD, kidney disease in patients with type 2 diabetes

SAN DIEGO — Patients with type 2 diabetes at high risk for cardiovascular disease assigned the SGLT2 inhibitor canagliflozin saw a 33% reduction in risk for hospitalization for heart failure and were 40% less likely to experience renal decline vs. those assigned placebo, according to findings from the integrated CANVAS study presented here.

In a randomized, double blind, placebo-controlled trial conducted across 30 countries, researchers also noted that participants assigned canagliflozin (Invokana, Janssen) were twice as likely to experience an amputation, primarily at the toe or metatarsal, compared with those receiving placebo. Read more.

Risk for major adverse CV events modest with prediabetes

SAN DIEGO — Adults with prediabetes have a modestly increased risk for major adverse cardiovascular events, while younger patients with recent-onset or longer duration of diabetes have a higher risk for events, according to a speaker here.

“In terms of risk of vascular disease, it has been well noted that the clock starts ticking prior to the development of diabetes,” Gillian L. Booth, PhD, MSc, associate professor at the Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation at the University of Toronto, said during a presentation. “In a recent meta-analysis, impaired fasting glucose based on either [American Diabetes Association] criteria or the WHO criteria was associated with a small but significantly increased incidence of major adverse CV events. [However], many studies lack sufficient power to look at subpopulations that may be more susceptible to the effects of prediabetes.” Read more.