The analysis of prevalence and its related factors of thyroid nodules in the elderly in Tongzhou District of Beijing / 中华老年医学杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective:To investigate the prevalence and its related factors of thyroid nodules in elderly residents in Tongzhou District of Beijing.Methods:This is a cross-sectional study with cluster sampling.A total of 3 639 elderly volunteers aged 60 years and over receiving annual multiphasic health checkups were enrolled in Yongshun, Tongzhou District of Beijing from June to December 2017.A uniformly designed questionnaire was used to investigate the subject's basic information and previous medical history.All volunteers received a B-ultrasound examination of the thyroid gland, and were divided into the nodular group and non-nodular group based on the results of the B-ultrasound.The differences between the two groups in blood pressure, body mass index, triglycerides, total cholesterol, fasting blood glucose, thyroid peroxidase antibodies, urine iodine and other indicators were compared so as to analyze the risk factors for thyroid nodules.Results:A total of 3 639 elderly residents were included.The prevalence of thyroid nodules was 49.68%(1 808/3 639). Univariate analysis showed that there were significant differences between nodule group and non-nodule group in the age, gender, systolic blood pressure, body mass index, urea nitrogen, uric acid, aspartate aminotransferase, triglycerides, thyroid stimulating hormone and carcinoembryonic antigen( P<0.05). Multivariate Logistic regression analysis showed that women( OR=1.577, 95% CI 1.358-1.832), age( OR=1.025, 95% CI 1.012-1.038), body mass index( OR=1.032, 95% CI 1.013-1.052)were risk factors for thyroid nodules.Increasing levels of urea nitrogen( OR=0.945, 95% CI 0.902-0.990), thyroid stimulating hormone( OR=0.925, 95% CI 0.882-0.970)and carcinoembryonic antigen( OR=0.967, 95% CI 0.941-0.994)were protective factors for thyroid nodules. Conclusions:Women and obesity are risk factors for thyroid nodules and increasing levels of thyroid stimulating hormone, urea nitrogen and carcinoembryonic antigen may be unique protective factors for thyroid nodules in the elderly.