Brief Reports
Copyright ©2005 Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Gastroenterol. Sep 21, 2005; 11(35): 5530-5534
Published online Sep 21, 2005. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v11.i35.5530
Association between thyroid function and gallstone disease
Henry Völzke, Daniel M Robinson, Ulrich John
Henry Völzke, Ulrich John, Ernst Moritz Arndt University Greifswald, Institute of Epidemiology and Social Medicine, Walther Rathenau Str. 48, D-17487 Greifswald, Germany
Daniel M Robinson, Ernst Moritz Arndt University Greifswald, Department of Medicine B, Friedrich Loeffler Str. 23a, D-17487 Greifswald, Germany
Author contributions: All authors contributed equally to the work.
Supported by the German Federal Ministry for Education and Research, No. 01ZZ96030, from the Ministry for Education, Research and Cultural Affairs and the Ministry for Social Affairs of the State Mecklenburg-West Pomerania
Correspondence to: Henry Völzke, MD, Institute of Epidemiology and Social Medicine, Ernst Moritz Arndt University, Walther Rathenau Str. 48, D-17487 Greifswald, Germany. voelzke@uni-greifswald.de
Telephone: +49-3834-867707 Fax: +49-3834-866684
Received: January 28, 2005
Revised: February 15, 2005
Accepted: February 18, 2005
Published online: September 21, 2005
Abstract

AIM: To investigate those associations using data of the population-based Study of Health in Pomerania.

METHODS: A study population of 3 749 residents aged 20-79 years without previously diagnosed thyroid disease was available for analyses. Serum TSH was used to assess thyroid function. Cholelithiasis was defined by either a prior history of cholecystectomy or the presence of gallstones on ultrasound. Logistic regression was performed to analyze independent associations between thyroid function and cholelithiasis.

RESULTS: There were 385 persons (10.3%) with low (<0.3 mIU/L), 3 321 persons (88.6%) with normal and 43 persons (1.2%) with high serum TSH levels (>3 mIU/L). The proportion of cholelithiasis among males and females was 14.4% and 25.3%, respectively. Among males, there was an independent relation between high serum TSH and cholelithiasis (OR 3.77; 95%-CI 1.06-13.41; P<0.05). Also among males, there was a tendency towards an elevated risk of cholelithiasis in persons with low serum TSH (OR 1.40; 95%-CI 0.96-2.02; P = 0.07). In the female population, no such relation was identified.

CONCLUSION: There is an association between thyroid and gallstone disease with a gender-specific relation between hypothyroidism and cholelithiasis.

Keywords: Thyroid function, Gallstones, Cholelithiasis, SHIP