Insulin Resistance in Association with Thyroid Function, Psychoemotional State, and Cardiovascular Risk Factors

Abstract

Background: Individuals with insulin resistance (IR) have a high risk of diabetes or metabolic syndrome, and they are more likely to have depression. Furthermore, IR by itself is a major cardiovascular risk factor in healthy persons. Thus, we aimed to investigate IR in association with thyroid function, psychoemotional state, and cardiovascular risk factors among 45–84-year-old citizens of Palanga. Methods: A randomized epidemiological study was performed with 850 subjects. All participants were evaluated for sociodemographic, clinical, and cardiovascular risk factors and biochemical analysis. IR was evaluated by the homeostasis model assessment of IR (HOMA-IR). Results: All study participants were stratified into groups without IR (HOMA-IR ≤ 2.7) and with IR (HOMA-IR > 2.7). The analysis of parameters between the two study groups showed some statistically significant relationships between IR and cardiovascular risk factors. The predictable accuracy was presented using receiver performance characteristic curves for HOMA-IR scores in women and men separately. If the HOMA-IR score is higher than 3.45, individuals are significantly more likely to have type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Conclusions: An increase of fasting glucose and more frequent incidence of metabolic syndrome, diabetes, and cardiovascular diseases in subjects with IR are associated with the prevalence of cardiovascular risk factors. There was no significant association between thyroid function and HOMA-IR. HOMA-IR cut-offs could predict the presence of T2DM.

Thyroid Function in Euthyroid subjects and Its Association with Insulin Resistance

“…These results refer to the significant role of body weight in modulation of the link between metabolic features and thyroid function [25] .…”

Thyroid volume and nodules in patients with impaired fasting glucose and type 2 diabetes mellitus

“…Area of research in thyroidology is the association of IR with thyroid functional and morphological abnormalities. Recent studies have shown consistent association of IR and thyroid morphological changes, raising the question of whether abnormality in glucose metabolism, which is a final consequence of IR, affects thyroid morphology [12,13].…”

Biomarkers indicating tissue thyroid hormone status: ready to be implemented yet?

“…Homeostasis model assessment for insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) is a model to assess insulin resistance based on fasting insulin and fasting glucose and has widely been investigated in relation to thyroid hormones and thyroid function. Literature reported both a negative association between HOMA-IR and both fT4 and fT3 in euthyroid participants (Roos et al 2007, Abdelwhab & Foda 2010, Bin Obead et al 2021, a positive association (Ren et al 2014 as no association at all (De Pergola et al 2007, Kazukauskiene et al 2021. In both hypothyroid and hyperthyroid patients, increased levels of HOMA-IR were found compared to euthyroid controls (Kapadia et al 2012, Srivastava et al 2021, although no difference between hypothyroid patients and euthyroid controls was found as well (Owecki et al 2006).…”