CV risk parameters tied to TSH concentrations in overweight, obesity

“In euthyroid overweight and (morbidly) obese children serum TSH concentrations are positively associated with markers representing increased CVD risk, such as [total cholesterol], LDL-[cholesterol], [triacylglycerol] and [monocyte chemotactic protein-1] concentrations,” the researchers wrote. “The additional observation that changes in TSH are associated with changes in [total cholesterol], LDL-[cholesterol], and [triacylglycerol] concentrations in children with successful weight loss after 1 year participating in a lifestyle intervention strengthens the earlier assumptions that serum TSH is indeed an intermediary factor in modulating lipid and lipoprotein metabolism, although causality could not be demonstrated. It is worth exploring in more depth the potential association between TSH and whole body cholesterol metabolism, including endogenous cholesterol synthesis, intestinal cholesterol absorption, and receptor mediated cholesterol clearance.”