Adolescent Thyroid disorders and Risk for Type 2 Diabetes in Young Adulthood.

Abstract

CONTEXT\nThyroid hormones play a key role in systemic metabolism, yet the relationship between thyroid dysfunction and risk for type 2 diabetes is unclear.\n\n\nOBJECTIVE\nTo assess type 2 diabetes risk in adulthood among adolescents with thyroid disorders.\n\n\nDESIGN AND SETTING\nA nationwide, population-based study of Israeli adolescents who were examined before military recruitment during 1988-2007, and were followed until December 31, 2016.\n\n\nPARTICIPANTS\n1,382,560 adolescents (mean age 17.3 years).\n\n\nINTERVENTIONS\nThe diagnosis of thyroid disorders was based on recent thyroid function tests. Data were linked to the Israeli National Diabetes Registry. Cox proportional hazard models were applied.\n\n\nMAIN OUTCOME MEASURES\nType 2 diabetes incidence.\n\n\nRESULTS\nDuring a mean follow-up of 18.5 years, 1.12% (69 of 6,152) of adolescents with thyroid disorders were diagnosed with type 2 diabetes vs. 0.77% of adolescents without thyroid disorders. The HR for type 2 diabetes was 2.3 (95%CI, 1.8-2.9) among those with thyroid disorders, after adjustment for sex, birth-year, BMI and sociodemographic confounders. The increased diabetes risk was observed in both men and women, presence or absence of obesity, in the absence of other health conditions, and was associated with different types of thyroid disorders. It was also similar when the outcome was defined as type 2 diabetes diagnosed at or before the age of 30 years (HR 2.3; 95%CI, 1.5-3.5).\n\n\nCONCLUSIONS\nThyroid disorders diagnosed in adolescence are a risk factor for early-onset type 2 diabetes in both men and women.