Background This study aimed to explore the associations of thyroid hormones with body fat content and lipid metabolism in euthyroid male patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Methods In January 2017, a cross sectional study, 66 male patients with T2DM who met the World Health Organization diagnostic criteria of 1999 who were ≥ 18.0 years and had normal thyroid function were recruited at a tertiary hospital. The categories of thyroid hormones (free triiodothyronine [FT3], free thyroxine [FT4], and thyroid-stimulating hormone [TSH]) were divided into three groups according to tertiles of thyroid hormones. Results The mean FT3, FT4, and TSH of the patients were 2.56 pg/mL, 1.03 ng/dL, and 1.50 μIU/mL, respectively. Increased FT3 were associated with higher body mass index (BMI) (P <  0.001), body fat percentage (BFP) (P = 0.008), visceral fat content (VFC) (P = 0.019), adiponectin (P = 0.037), tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α) (P <  0.001), and interleukin 6 (IL-6) (P = 0.015). There were significant differences among the different FT4 categories for BMI (P = 0.033), waist–hip ratio (WHR) (P = 0.030), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) (P = 0.014), and IL-6 (P = 0.009). Increased TSH could increase the total cholesterol (TC) (P = 0.005) and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) (P = 0.010). FT3 was positively correlated with BMI (r = 0.45; P <  0.001), WHR (r = 0.27; P = 0.028), BFP (r = 0.33; P = 0.007), VFC (r = 0.30; P = 0.014), adiponectin (r = 0.25; P = 0.045), TNF-α (r = 0.47; P <  0.001), and IL-6 (r = 0.32; P = 0.008). FT4 was positively correlated with HDL-C (r = 0.26; P = 0.038), LDL-C (r = 0.26; P = 0.036), and adiponectin (r = 0.28; P = 0.023). TSH was positively correlated with TC (r = 0.36; P = 0.003). Conclusion This study found that the changes in thyroid hormones are associated with various body fat content and lipid metabolism in euthyroid male patients with T2DM.

Background Whether the levels of circulating inflammatory adipokines affect the progression of type 2 diabetes (T2D) remains unclear. This study aimed to assess the association between circulating inflammatory adipokine levels and risk of T2D. Methods This case–control study involved 130 individuals consisting of 66 healthy controls (Control group) and 64 patients with T2D (T2D group) in Lishui Municipal Central Hospital from January 2017 to June 2017. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was applied to assess the associations between circulating inflammatory adipokine levels and the risk of T2D. Results There were significant differences in the levels of adiponectin ( p = 0.013) and visfatin ( p < 0.001) between the T2D and Control groups. In contrast, no significant differences in leptin ( p = 0.113), TNF‐α ( p = 0.632), and IL‐6 ( p = 0.156) levels were found between the groups. Multivariate logistic regression indicated that elevated visfatin level was associated with an increased risk of T2D (OR: 3.543; 95% CI: 1.771–7.088; p < 0.001), while adiponectin (OR: 1.946; 95% CI: 0.925–4.094; p = 0.079), leptin (OR: 3.723; 95% CI: 0.788–17.583; p = 0.097), TNF‐α (OR: 1.081; 95% CI: 0.911–1.281; p = 0.373), and IL‐6 (OR: 0.878; 95% CI: 0.657–1.173; p = 0.379) were not associated with the risk of T2D. Conclusions This study found elevated visfatin levels are associated with an increased risk of T2D, while adiponectin, leptin, TNF‐α, and IL‐6 are not. These findings should be further verified by a large‐scale prospective study.

Background: This study compared the relationship between thyroid hormones and lipid metabolism/body fat content in euthyroid male patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) in China. Methods: A total of 64 male patients who were diagnosed as T2DM and 64 non-diabetic males who underwent health examination were matched according to age at a 1:1 ratio. Results: The 32 subjects in each sub-group showed differences in age, body mass index (BMI), mean arterial pressure, waist circumference, visceral fat content, body fat percentage, HbA1c, HOMA-IR, FT3, TSH, HDL-c, adiponectin, leptin, visfatin and TNF-α (all P < 0.05). In the overall population, FT3 was positively correlated with body fat percentage (r=0.21, P=0.02), and negatively correlated with HOMA-IR (r=-0.18, P=0.04) and visfatin (r=-0.47, P <0.01); TSH was positively correlated with body fat percentage (r=0.23, P=0.01). In the T2DM-OB group FT3 was positively correlated with BMI (r=0.45, P <0.05), visceral fat content (r=0.50, P <0.05), and body fat percentage (r=0.44, P <0.05); FT4 was positively correlated with visceral fat content (r=0.38, P <0.05); and TSH was positively correlated with HOMA-IR (r=0.39, P <0.05). Conclusion: TSH increased in obese people and FT3 was lower in patients with T2DM.