Thyroid hormone levels linked to liver fibrosis in type 2 diabetes
Click Here to Manage Email Alerts
Among patients with type 2 diabetes and normal thyroid function, thyroid hormone levels were linked to nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, suggesting assessment of these hormones might be beneficial for disease prevention and treatment.
In the study, Yuanyuan Zhang, MD, of the department of endocrinology, Geriatrics Center, at the First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui University of Traditional Chinese Medicine in Anhui, China, and colleagues aimed to determine the association between thyroid hormones and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease among adults with type 2 diabetes and normal thyroid function.
The retrospective analysis included 586 participants, of whom 55.1% were women. Researchers divided participants into groups with (n = 346) and without (n = 240) NAFLD. A NAFLD fibrosis score of > 0.676 served as the definition for progressive liver fibrosis, which researchers used to categorize participants into two groups: those with (n = 93) and without (n = 493) progressive liver fibrosis.
According to results, levels of free triiodothyronine, total triiodomethylamine and free T3/free thyroxine ratio were significantly increased whereas the free T4 level was decreased in the group with NAFLD compared with the group without NAFLD (P < .05). Additionally, compared with participants without progressive liver fibrosis, those with progressive liver fibrosis demonstrated lower levels of free T3, free T4, total T3 and total T4 (P < .05).
In logistic regression analysis, a positive relationship between free T3/free T4 ratio and NAFLD (P = .038) was observed, whereas a negative association was reported between free T4 level and NAFLD (P = .026), and between the risk for progressive hepatic fibrosis and levels of free T4 (P = .022), total T3 (P = .007) and total T4 (P = .046).
“There is [a close] correlation between the abnormal thyroid hormone levels and liver fibrosis in type 2 diabetes patients, ie, the prevalence of NAFLD increased following the increase of free T3, free T3/free T4 ratio and decrease of free T4,” the researchers concluded. “These results suggested that the change of thyroid hormone level in type 2 diabetes patients should be tested routinely for judging the patient’s condition and predicting the prognosis.”
Collapse
Click Here to Manage Email Alerts