Prevalence of elevated TSH and its association with dyslipidemia and NAFLD among Filipino adult executive check-up patients in a tertiary hospital

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVES: The study examined the prevalence of elevated thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) and its association with dyslipidemia and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) among Filipino adults undergoing executive check-up. METHODS: Clinical characteristics such as age, vital signs, anthropometrics, FBS, lipid profile, liver function tests, TSH and hepatobiliary ultrasound were reviewed from the charts of 580 patients to determine the prevalence of elevated TSH, NAFLD, and dyslipidemia. Binary logistic regression analysis was performed to determine association between TSH levels, NAFLD, and dyslipidemia. RESULTS: The prevalence of elevated TSH was 3.10%. Patients with increased total cholesterol was approximately 4.18 times as likely (95% CI 1.20 to 14.61%, p = 0.025) to have elevated TSH. However, after adjusting for age and sex, we had insufficient evidence to demonstrate an association between NAFLD and lipid levels with elevated TSH levels. CONCLUSION: The prevalence of elevated TSH in this group of patients from a highly urbanized area was 3.1%. We had insufficient evidence to demonstrate an association between NAFLD, lipid levels, and elevated TSH levels after adjusting for age and sex.