Relationship between age and serum thyrotropin among asymptomatic older people in Taiwan

Huang, Chia-Chang; Chen, Yu-Chun; Chen, Liang-Kung; Hwang, Shinn-Jang; Lin, Hong-Da

doi:10.1016/j.archger.2009.09.004

« Previous Next »Archives of Gerontology and Geriatrics
Volume 51, Issue 2 , Pages 117-120, September 2010

Relationship between age and serum thyrotropin among asymptomatic older people in Taiwan

Chia-Chang Huang
- Center for Geriatrics and Gerontology, Taipei Veterans General Hospital, No. 201 Shih-Pai Road, Section 2, Taipei 11217, Taiwan
- Division of Endocrinology and Metabolism, Department of Medicine, Taipei Veterans General Hospital, No. 201 Shih-Pai Road, Section 2, Taipei 11217, Taiwan
Yu-Chun Chen
- Department of Family Medicine, Taipei Veterans General Hospital, No. 201 Shih-Pai Road, Section 2, Taipei 11217, Taiwan
- National Yang-Ming University School of Medicine, No. 155 Li-Nong Street, Section 2, Taipei 11217, Taiwan
Liang-Kung Chen
- Center for Geriatrics and Gerontology, Taipei Veterans General Hospital, No. 201 Shih-Pai Road, Section 2, Taipei 11217, Taiwan
- Department of Family Medicine, Taipei Veterans General Hospital, No. 201 Shih-Pai Road, Section 2, Taipei 11217, Taiwan
- National Yang-Ming University School of Medicine, No. 155 Li-Nong Street, Section 2, Taipei 11217, Taiwan
- Corresponding author at: Department of Family Medicine, Taipei Veterans General Hospital, No. 201 Shih-Pai Road, Section 2, Taipei 11217, Taiwan. Tel.: +886 2 2875 7460; fax: +886 2 2873 7901.
Shinn-Jang Hwang
- Center for Geriatrics and Gerontology, Taipei Veterans General Hospital, No. 201 Shih-Pai Road, Section 2, Taipei 11217, Taiwan
- Department of Family Medicine, Taipei Veterans General Hospital, No. 201 Shih-Pai Road, Section 2, Taipei 11217, Taiwan
- National Yang-Ming University School of Medicine, No. 155 Li-Nong Street, Section 2, Taipei 11217, Taiwan
Hong-Da Lin
- Division of Endocrinology and Metabolism, Department of Medicine, Taipei Veterans General Hospital, No. 201 Shih-Pai Road, Section 2, Taipei 11217, Taiwan
- National Yang-Ming University School of Medicine, No. 155 Li-Nong Street, Section 2, Taipei 11217, Taiwan

Received 3 June 2009; received in revised form 29 August 2009; accepted 31 August 2009. published online 12 October 2009.

Abstract

Hypothyroidism is a common disorder in older people, and may be asymptomatic and hard to be diagnosed. The main purpose of this study was to evaluate the distribution of serum thyrotropin (thyroxin-stimulating hormone, TSH) among asymptomatic older people in Taiwan, and to evaluate the relationship between age and serum TSH. In 2007, all subjects participating in the annual elderly health examinations at Taipei Veterans General Hospital were invited for study and were enrolled when they were fully consented. In total, 1716 asymptomatic elderly people (mean age: 73.2±4.4 years, 56.3% males) participated in this study after careful exclusion of 38 subjects with past history of thyroid disorders. All participants were divided into two groups: (1) younger old (age 65–79) and (2) older old (age over 80) for further analysis. The mean serum levels of TSH were similar between younger old and older old groups (2.43±5.36μIU/ml for younger old and 2.36±3.51μIU/ml for older old, p=0.444). The overall prevalence of suspected hypothyroidism was 9.2% among asymptomatic older people in Taiwan, which was significantly lower than in Caucasians. The prevalence of suspected hypothyroidism may reach 25.9% if the TSH cutoff was lowered to 2.5μIU/ml. Further study is needed to determine the normal reference range of serum TSH in older people.