Relationship between complications of type 2 diabetes and thyroid nodules

Recent evidence suggests that diabetes is a risk factor for thyroid nodules. However, the relationship between complications of type 2 diabetes and the risk of thyroid nodules remains unclear. This present study aims to investigate the association between thyroid nodules and complications of type 2 diabetes.

This retrospective study collected 4696 adult inpatients with type 2 diabetes between January 2021 and December 2021. The complications examined in this paper included diabetic nephropathy, peripheral neuropathy, eye disorder, and peripheral vascular disease.

A total of 4696 patients with type 2 diabetes participated in the study, of whom 19.6% had thyroid nodules. Among all the complications, eye disorder had the highest incidence of thyroid nodules (incidence rate, 29.4%; 95% CI, 26.23%-32.51%). The prevalence of thyroid nodules was lower among patients without complications (incidence rate, 14.1%; 95% CI, 12.48% -15.67%) compared to patients who had complications (incidence rate, 23.1%; 95% CI, 21.59%-24.68%) (p < 0.001). Logistic regression revealed that peripheral neuropathy (adjusted OR, 1.6; 95% CI, 1.4-1.9), eye disorder (adjusted OR, 1.8; 95% CI, 1.5-2.2), and peripheral vascular disease (adjusted OR, 1.8; 95% CI, 1.6-2.1) were all significantly associated with an increased risk of thyroid nodules. However, no significant correlation was found between diabetic nephropathy and the risk of thyroid nodules.

One of the key findings of this study is that type 2 diabetes without complications is negatively correlated with the risk of thyroid nodules, while several complications are associated with a significantly increased risk of thyroid nodules.