Nearly 25% of adults with thyroid nodules diagnosed with diabetes
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Key takeaways:
- Of adults with documented thyroid nodules, 24% have been diagnosed with diabetes.
- Older age and low levels of free T3, LDL cholesterol and HDL cholesterol were associated with higher odds for diabetes.
Nearly one-quarter of adults with documented thyroid nodules also have diabetes, according to a study published in the Journal of Clinical Medicine Research.
“There was a high prevalence of diabetes among patients with thyroid nodular disease,” Imad R. Musa, FRCP, MRCPI, MSc, MBBS, consultant of internal medicine and endocrinology in the department of medicine at the Royal Commission Hospital at Al Jubail Industrial City in Saudi Arabia, and colleagues wrote. “Age, hypertension, free triiodothyronine, LDL and HDL were significant predictors for diabetes among patients with thyroid nodules.”
Researchers conducted a retrospective study of adults who had thyroid nodules identified on an ultrasound at Royal Commission Hospital from 2015 to 2021. Sociodemographic data, thyroid status and comorbidities, including type 1 and type 2 diabetes diagnosis, were collected. Laboratory tests were conducted to collect data on white blood cell counts, thyroid function, lipids and vitamin D levels.
There were 391 adults with thyroid nodules who were included in the study (median age, 46 years; 84.9% women). Of the cohort, 24% were diagnosed with diabetes.
In multivariate analysis, adults were more likely to have diabetes if they were older (OR = 1.037; 95% CI, 1.012-1.062; P = .004), had lower free T3 levels (OR = 0.635; 95% CI, 0.412-0.98; P = .04), had lower LDL cholesterol (OR = 0.643; 95% CI, 0.456-0.907; P = .012) or had lower HDL cholesterol (OR = 0.654; 95% CI, 0.465-0.919; P = .015). Adults with hypertension had a lower likelihood for diabetes than those without hypertension (OR = 0.374; 95% CI, 0.203-0.689; P = .002).
“The current study showed that lower levels of T3 were a significant predictor for diabetes for patients with thyroid nodular diseases,” the researchers wrote. “This result was strengthened with a similar significant association of lower levels of T3 with the risk of developing type 2 diabetes and gestational diabetes. This may be explained by the influence of Dio2, the enzyme responsible for the conversion of thyroxine to T3, which is associated with an increased risk of increased insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes.”
The researchers noted there were several risk factors that were not assessed in the study, including thyroid antibodies, iodine levels, diabetes type, glycemic control, duration of diabetes, nutritional patterns, whether adults had exposure to radiation, genetic analysis and environmental factors. Other limitations included the retrospective nature of the study and that it was only conducted at a single location.
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