Triiodothyronine Is an Indicator of Nutritional Status in Adolescent Girls with Eating Disorders

Abstract

Aim: Circulating thyroid hormone concentrations are influenced by nonthyroidal disease and changes in nutritional status. We studied thyroid hormones as possible indicators of nutrition in adolescent girls with eating disorders. Method: Blood samples for analyses of thyroid hormones were obtained at 360 assessments of 298 patients and biweekly during 42 treatment periods in 36 patients. Results: At assessment, when most of the girls were on a weight losing course, serum triiodothyronine (T3) concentrations were low. Great weight loss and rapid rate of weight loss were the most important predictors of low T3 concentrations. Serum free thyroxine concentrations were in the lower normal range. In premenarcheal girls, weight loss was the most important predictor of free thyroxine but this relationship was weaker in postmenarcheal girls. Serum TSH concentrations were within the normal range and only weakly related to weight changes. During treatment, T3 increased in parallel with weight but was also influenced by the short-term weight trend. Conclusion: Serum T3 concentration is an indicator of nutritional status in adolescent girls with eating disorders. It is sensitive to short-term weight changes and could be used to monitor progress throughout nutritional rehabilitation.

Essential fatty acid status in teenage girls with eating disorders and weight loss

“…D6D is, however, also regulated by hormones such as insulin and thyroid hormones (26,27). These are subject to nutritional regulation and are low in ED with weight loss (28,29). The hormonal effects of starvation on D6D thus appear to override the disinhibition by low PUFA availability.…”

Resumption of menses in anorexia nervosa during a course of family-based treatment

“…Goal weights typically take into account patient’s height, age, premorbid growth curve percentiles for height and weight, prior growth trajectory, growth potential, pubertal stage, anthropometric measurements and other physiological factors [1]. However, ROM does not only depend on reaching goal weight, as endocrine markers such as luteinizing hormone, estradiol, and triiodothyronine can also be useful in determining the onset or return of menses [3,18,21,22]. Notwithstanding, ROM, in conjunction with expected body weight (EBW), can serve as a yardstick to estimate goal weights for adolescent AN.…”

Plasma cholesterol is related to menstrual status in adolescent girls with eating disorders and weight loss

“…This implies that these younger girls were more sensitive to the insults of starvation. We have previously demonstrated that circulating T3 changes rapidly with nutritional status and that this effect is considerable in premenarcheal girls (31). These girls have not yet completed puberty and longitudinal growth and this makes them vulnerable to the insults of starvation, and they have more to lose in the longer term if this weight is not recovered.…”