Circulating resistin levels are lower in hypothyroid women but independent from thyroid hormones concentrations.

OBJECTIVES: Although resistin is involved in metabolism, its role in humans is unclear. Since thyroid status influences metabolism, and since only few studies have evaluated the associations between resistin and thyroid status with inconclusive results, we investigated serum serum resistin levels and their correlations with TSH, FT4 and FT3 in hypothyroid and euthyroid women.

DESIGN AND METHODS: Study group consisted of 22 women with a history of total thyroidectomy and radioiodine ablation performed for thyroid cancer. Controls were 22 healthy euthyroid women matched for age and BMI. After six-weeks of thyroxine withdrawal, subjects were admitted to the Department of Endocrinology of the Poznan University of Medical Sciences to perform this study.

RESULTS: Serum resistin concentrations were lower in hypothyroid patients, 12.40 +/- 5.197 vs. 18.01 +/- 7.31, p=0.0065. In hypothyroid subjects, correlations were as follows: r of -0.2636 and p of 0.248, r of 0.0336 and p of 0.885, and r of 0.3080 and P of 0.174 for resistin and FT4, resistin and FT3, and resistin and TSH, respectively. In controls: r of 0.0311 and p of 0.8908, r of -0.0986 and p of 0.6625, and r of 0.1605 and p of 0.4754 for resistin and FT4, resistin and FT3, and resistin and TSH, respectively.

CONCLUSIONS: Short-term profound hypothyroidism decreased resistin levels. However, no significant correlations between the levels of circulating resistin and thyroid hormones and TSH were shown.