The Prevalence of Thyroid Nodules and an Analysis of Related Lifestyle Factors in Beijing Communities

Abstract

Thyroid nodules (TNs) have annual increasing trends worldwide, and large-scale investigations on the prevalence of TNs in Beijing communities have not been conducted since the introduction of salt iodization in 1995. We performed a cross-sectional study to determine the prevalence of TNs, their epidemiological characteristics, and their correlation with lifestyle factors. A total of 6324 permanent residents aged 18 years or older (mean age, 52.15 ± 11.58 years) from seven representative communities in Beijing were included in the analyses. Once informed consent was obtained, the subjects were asked to complete questionnaires, a physical examination, and thyroid ultrasound. A total of 3100 cases had TNs. The overall prevalence rate was 49.0%, and the age-standardized prevalence was 40.1%, which increased significantly as age increased (p < 0.001). The prevalence was significantly higher in females compared to males (p < 0.001), and it was significantly higher among female current smokers and former smokers compared to non-smokers (p = 0.007). There was no correlation between alcohol consumption and TNs, and there were no significant differences in the prevalence among different groups of taste preference. The prevalence decreased with an increased frequency of seafood intake (p = 0.015) and with higher literacy levels (p < 0.001). The Cochran–Armitage trend test showed that the prevalence significantly increased with decreased physical labor and exercise intensity (p < 0.001, p = 0.009). Logistic regression analysis showed that age (Odds ratio (OR) = 1.039 (1.034–1.044), p < 0.001), the female sex (OR = 1.789 (1.527–2.097)), Body mass index (BMI) (OR = 1.019 (1.005–1.034)), and current smoking habits (OR = 1.246 (1.046–1.483)) were independent risk factors for TNs. Our findings indicate that there is a high prevalence of TNs in Beijing, with a higher prevalence in females than in males. Moreover, the prevalence increases as age increases. Smoking and BMI are independent risk factors for TNs. Therefore, intervention against smoking and weight loss might help reduce the risk of TN occurrence.

Thyroid Nodules in Centenarians: Prevalence and Relationship to Lifestyle Characteristics and Dietary Habits

“…The gender disparity of the presence of TNs was in accordance with previous studies [5,19,20]. Interestingly, this study found a higher odds ratio of TNs (3.36, 95%CI = 1.97-5.75; P < 0.001) in females than previous studies, which indicates a potentially increasing trend of gender disparity on TNs with aging.…”

“…The associations between TNs and hypertension as well as diabetes have been reported in general population [8,23,24]. Previous studies have investigated the relationship between obesity and TNs, indicating that people who were overweight and with a higher BMI were more likely to have TNs than those who were not [5,21,25]. In centenarians, approximately half of them were underweight (53.0%) and another half were mainly normal weight (47.0%).…”

“…To our best knowledge, this is the first study to report prevalence of thyroid nodules among centenarians. According to the previous studies, the prevalence of TNs in senior population was 73.7% in China [5], 54.9% in Korea [19], and 46.2% in Cameroon [20]. The differences in the prevalence may be due to age, gender, race, culture, dietary patterns, and iodine supplements [7,21,22].…”

“…In addition, recent studies also proposed that several risk factors could attribute to TNs. Among those risk factors, some factors were non-modifiable such as age, sex, and history of irradiation exposure, while others were modifiable including iodine intake, smoking, alcohol drinking, obesity and metabolic syndrome [5][6][7][8]. However, some other modifiable factors, including passive smoking, red meat consumption, and nut intake which were related to lifestyle and dietary habits, were seldom regarded in TNs' studies.…”

“…The clinical importance of TNs detection rests with the need to exclude thyroid cancer, which occurs in 5-15% of TN cases [1,4]. A recent study reported that the occurrence of TNs increased as people age, with a prevalence of 74% in a community-based sample of Chinese senior adults [5]. However, the prevalence of this lesion in centenarians remained understudied.…”