Abstract
ObjectivesThyroid dysfunction is linked to an increased risk of cognitive impairment. However, studies on the relationships between thyroid diseases and Alzheimer’s disease (AD) have reported conflicting results. We investigated the associations between several thyroid diseases and AD in a nested case-control study.MethodsA total of 1,977 participants with AD were identified by claims data from 2002-2015 among a random sample of half a million people in the Korean National Health Insurance database. We recruited 16,473 age- and sex-matched (1:4 ratio) control participants and applied conditional logistic regression to estimate the relationships between thyroid diseases and AD, with adjustments for potential confounders, such as basic demographics, lifestyle factors, and various medical conditions or comorbidities.ResultsThe prevalence rates of hypothyroidism (odds ratio [OR]=1.14, 95% confidence interval [CI]=1.00-1.30), thyroiditis (OR=1.22, 95% CI=1.05-1.40), and hyperthyroidism (OR=1.13, 95% CI=1.01-1.28) were significantly higher in participants with AD than in control participants after adjustment for confounders.ConclusionIn this large national sample, we found significant relationships between several thyroid diseases and AD. Despite of the need for further investigation, these findings could better support to appreciate the pathophysiology of AD.
Highlights
Thyroid hormones are essential for neuronal development and cellular metabolism, and their dysfunction can lead to potentially devastating health consequences that influence numerous organs in patients of all ages [1]
We aimed to investigate the associations between several thyroid diseases and Alzheimer’s disease (AD) using nationwide cohort data from Korea
This study demonstrated the associations between hypothyroidism, thyroiditis, hyperthyroidism, and AD, with odds ratios (ORs) values of 1.14, 1.22, and 1.13 after adjusting the model for covariates and each thyroid disease or condition
Summary
Thyroid hormones are essential for neuronal development and cellular metabolism, and their dysfunction can lead to potentially devastating health consequences that influence numerous organs in patients of all ages [1]. Thyroid hormones regulate neuronal cytoarchitecture, growth and synaptogenesis, and their receptors have a broad distribution in the central nervous system (CNS) [2]. Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is the most prevalent form of dementia and a progressive neurodegenerative disease of the CNS that leads to multidomain cognitive impairment, memory dysfunction. According to the 2010 US Census data, the overall prevalence of AD was estimated to be 14.5% and the annual incidence was 2.3% [4]. This disease is known to be attributed to extracellular amyloid deposition and intracellular neurofibrillary tangles of hyperphosphorylated tau [5]. The causes of these features and those of the disease have not yet been elucidated
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