Is there a relationship between thyroid function and serum osteocalcin in women with multinodular goitre? A...

The relationship between thyroid function and serum osteocalcin was studied in a population of 27 women with multinodular goitre and normal serum concentrations of thyroid hormones. Seven patients were found to have suppressed TSH levels (less than 0.1 mU/l) as measured by an immunoradiometric assay. Osteocalcin was statistically significantly correlated with serum free thyroxine (FT4), both in the total population and in the subpopulation of patients with TSH greater than or equal to 0.1 mU/l (r = 0.61; P less than 0.001, resp. r = 0.51; P less than 0.05). Mean (+/- SEM) serum osteocalcin and FT4 were higher in the patients with suppressed TSH than in those with TSH greater than or equal to 0.1 mU/l (10.6 +/- 1.9 vs. 7.1 +/- 0.6 micrograms/l; P less than 0.05, resp. 16.3 +/- 1.4 vs. 13.3 +/- 0.5 pmol/l; P less than 0.02). This study suggests that women with multinodular goitre who proceed to autonomous function are at risk of developing osteoporosis even when thyroid hormone concentrations are in the normal range.