Gender-Specific Differences on the Association of Hypertension with Subclinical Thyroid Dysfunction

Area of Science:

• Endocrinology
• Cardiovascular Medicine
• Public Health

Background:

• Hypertension and subclinical thyroid dysfunction (STD) are prevalent conditions with significant clinical implications.
• The relationship between hypertension and STD, especially gender-specific differences, remains incompletely understood.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the gender-specific association between hypertension and subclinical thyroid dysfunction (STD) in a Chinese population.
• To differentiate the impact of subclinical hypothyroidism and subclinical hyperthyroidism on hypertension.

Main Methods:

• A cross-sectional study involving 13,380 healthy Chinese participants (8,237 men, 5,143 women).
• Analysis of hypertension and STD associations stratified by gender.
• Subgrouping STD into subclinical hypothyroidism and subclinical hyperthyroidism.
• Binary logistic regression to calculate crude and adjusted odds ratios.

Main Results:

• Hypertension prevalence increased with age in both genders, with a higher prevalence in men until age 65.
• Women exhibited a higher propensity for STD overall, though this gender difference diminished in older adults.
• Subclinical hypothyroidism was significantly associated with hypertension in both genders (ORs > 1.557, P < 0.01), while subclinical hyperthyroidism was not.
• Females with subclinical hypothyroidism showed a stronger association with hypertension compared to males.

Conclusions:

• Hypertension is demonstrably associated with subclinical hypothyroidism, not subclinical hyperthyroidism.
• Gender plays a role, with females experiencing a more pronounced link between subclinical hypothyroidism and hypertension.