Associations Between Thyroid Volume and Physical Growth in Pubertal Girls: Thyroid Volume Indexes Need to Be Applied to Thyroid Volume Assessments

Abstract

BackgroundThyroid volume (Tvol) is associated with many factors, but the current reference values for Tvol in children with sufficient iodine intake are inappropriate and need to be updated. Moderate changes in thyroid morphology and accentuated increases in body fat percentage occur during puberty as an adaption of the body and sexual development occurs. This study aimed to evaluate the influences of physical growth on Tvol and propose an easily applicable method for conducting Tvol assessments in pubertal girls with sufficient iodine intake.MethodsA cohort study was conducted on 481 pubertal girls in East China from 2017 to 2019. B-ultrasound was used to assess Tvol. Multiple linear regression models were used to estimate the associations of Tvol enlargement (dTvol) with changes in height (dH), weight (dW), waist circumference (dW), body mass index (dBMI), and body surface area (dBSA). Thyroid volume indexes (TVIs), including height thyroid volume index (HVI), weight and height thyroid volume index (WHVI), body mass index thyroid index (BMIV), and body surface area thyroid index (BSAV), were calculated to explore an appropriate method for Tvol assessments by Spearman correlation analyses.ResultsTvol, height, weight, BMI, and BSA increased significantly from baseline to follow-up (P<0.001). The associations between dTvol and physical growth were only observed in the 13 to 14-year-old group. dH, dW,dBMI, and dBSA were positively related to dTvol, with the maximum β of 5.74 (95%CI: 2.54 to 8.94) on dBSA, while dWC was negatively related to dTvol (β= -0.05, 95%CI: -0.08 to -0.03). Both dHVI and dBSAV were not associated with dH, dW, dBMI, or dBSA in both age groups (P>0.05).ConclusionsThyroid volume was associated with physical growth in pubertal girls in East China, both age and anthropometric measurements must be comprehensively considered to establish the reference values for Tvol. HVI, and BSAV may be better indicators for Tvol assessments in pubertal girls.

Systematic Literature Review of the Nutrient Status, Intake, and Diet Quality of Chinese Children across Different Age Groups

“…Pre-schoolers (3–6 years) had a median UIC of 181 μg/L for those living in rural areas and 182 μg/L for those living in urban areas; school-aged children (7–12 years) had a median of 191 μg/L for those living in rural areas and 166 μg/L for those living in urban areas; and adolescents (13–18 years old) had a median of 193 μg/L for those living in rural areas and 186 μg/L for those living in urban areas [ 86 ]. Similarly, in another study, children aged 8 years had UIC of 158 μg/l in rural areas and 161 μg/L in urban areas; children aged 9 years had 180 μg/L in rural areas and 157 μg/L in urban areas; and children aged 10 years had 185.4 μg/L in rural areas and 180 μg/L in urban areas [ 101 ].…”

“…In Hebei, the median UIC was 419 μg/L; additionally, 68% of the study populations were > 300 μg/L, while this was 28% at the national level [ 46 , 100 ]. Two studies in Zhejiang province showed higher UIC in rural populations versus urban; however, this was not significant [ 86 , 101 ]. Pre-schoolers (3–6 years) had a median UIC of 181 μg/L for those living in rural areas and 182 μg/L for those living in urban areas; school-aged children (7–12 years) had a median of 191 μg/L for those living in rural areas and 166 μg/L for those living in urban areas; and adolescents (13–18 years old) had a median of 193 μg/L for those living in rural areas and 186 μg/L for those living in urban areas [ 86 ].…”

Sex-specific associations between the developmental alterations in the pituitary-thyroid hormone axis and thyroid nodules in Chinese euthyroid adults: a community-based cross−sectional study

“…While it is widely acknowledged that TSH plays a significant role in promoting nodule development and hastening nodule growth in adults (36), the relationship between TSH and TNs in euthyroid individuals remains inconclusive. One previous study reported TSH was not correlated with thyroid nodule formation (37), however other studies found that lower TSH levels were associated with a higher prevalence of TNs both in adolescents (13) and adults (15), which is consistent with the results in our study.…”

Differences between chronological age and height age in goiter interpretation

“…In a study conducted in our country, the most important predictors of TV were stated as body weight, body surface area and height, respectively (5). Differences of countries or regions of a country, non homogeneous age range distribution in the sample group, differences of pubertal assessments at certain ages, were not taken into account while determining TV reference cards (6,7). So, diagnostic problems may occur when using these reference cards; such as sometimes detecting goiter in individuals without having goiter, or performing normal evaluations in individuals with goiter.…”