Analysing Thyroid Hormone Profiles and Serum Proteins in Healthy Young Women in the Preconception Period and their Relationship with Anthropometric Parameters

Establishing the associations between anthropometric parameters and thyroid hormones and serum proteins in apparently healthy young women may identify early predictors of possible latent pathology with potential impact on future pregnancy outcomes and offspring health. Anthropometric measurements were carried out in accordance with The International Society for the Advancement of Kinanthropometry (ISAK). Body mass index [BMI], waist circumference, hip circumference, thyroid-stimulating hormone [TSH], free tri-iodothyronine [fT3], free thyroxine [fT4]) and serum proteins (total protein [TP], electrophoretic profile, high-sensi- tivity C-reactive protein [hs-CRP], thyroxine-binding globulin [TBG], transthyretin [TTR]) were measured in 101 young (22.1±1.1 years) healthy women. Serum TSH, fT3 and fT4 were measured using electrochemiluminescence immunoassays. The correlations between the parameters within each group were assessed by Spearman’s rank-order correlation test. The statistical analyses were performed using STATISTICA version 13.3. A p value less than 0.05 was considered statistically significant. BMI was not associated with serum thyroid hormone concentrations, TP, hs-CRP, TBG, TTR and protein electrophoretic fractions (p>0.05). Interconnections (p<0.05) between serum thyroid hormones and protein concentrations were highest at normal weights and differed between underweight and overweight subjects. In underweight subjects, a negative association was between waist circumference and fT3/fT4 ratio (r=-0.49, p<0.05). In overweight subjects, hip circumference was positively associated with the fT3/fT4 ratio (r=0.75, p<0.05). In conclusion, interdependencies of serum thyroid hormone concentrations with protein profiles between young normal-, under- and overweight women may indicate involvement of these parameters in the regulation of body-weight-dependent metabolic processes. Waist circumference in underweight females and hip circumference in overweight individuals may signal altered local metabolic homeostasis involving thyroid hormones. In conclusion, the differences in the association between anthropometric indices and the thyroid hormone panel and serum proteins demonstrated in healthy young women in the preconception period, suggest a chance to select a set of test parameters of prognostic potential, specifically targeted to this sex and age group.