Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 20, 2025

Author Spotlight: Accurately Assessing Thyroid Hormone-Driven Motor Alterations in Mouse
Published on: October 6, 2023
Thyroid Disorders as a Risk Factor for Neurodegenerative Proteinopathies: A Large-Scale Propensity Score-Matched
Eman A Toraih1,2,3, Sidra Siddiqui4, Sarah Siddiqui4
1Department of Surgery, School of Medicine, Tulane University, New Orleans, Louisiana, USA, etoraih@tulane.edu.
Background:
The relationship between thyroid disorders and neurodegenerative diseases remains poorly understood. This large-scale retrospective cohort study aimed to investigate the association between thyroid disorders and various neurodegenerative diseases, as well as the potential impact of thyroidectomy.
Methods:
We analyzed data from 3,719,666 patients with thyroid disorders and 2,945,438 controls from 120 healthcare organizations (TriNetX database). After propensity score matching, each group included 2,033,096 patients. We compared the risk of neurodegenerative diseases between these groups and examined the effect of thyroidectomy in a subgroup analysis of 31,753 matched pairs.
Results:
Patients with thyroid disorders showed significantly higher risks of Alzheimer's disease (RR = 1.15, 95% CI: 1.110-1.195), Parkinson's disease (RR = 1.25, 95% CI: 1.187-1.318), amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (RR = 1.35, 95% CI: 1.131-1.622), frontotemporal dementia (RR = 1.44, 95% CI: 1.219-1.702), Lewy body dementia (RR = 1.15, 95% CI: 1.107-1.186), progressive supranuclear palsy (RR = 1.41, 95% CI: 1.095-1.819), vascular dementia (RR = 1.32, 95% CI: 1.266-1.369), Niemann-Pick disease type C (RR = 1.34, 95% CI: 1.092-1.638), and Wilson's disease (RR = 1.26, 95% CI: 1.056-1.507). Interestingly, the risk of multiple sclerosis was lower (RR = 0.80, 95% CI: 0.738-0.862). Thyroidectomy was associated with a 44.2% lower risk of Lewy body dementia (RR = 0.558, 95% CI: 0.339-0.919, p = 0.020).
Conclusions:
Thyroid disorders are significantly associated with an increased risk of several neurodegenerative diseases. Thyroidectomy may have a protective effect against Lewy body dementia. These findings suggest a complex relationship between thyroid function and neurodegeneration, emphasizing the need for neurological monitoring in patients with thyroid disorders and further research into thyroid-brain interactions.
More Related Videos
08:33Characterizing Histone Post-translational Modification Alterations in Yeast Neurodegenerative Proteinopathy Models
Published on: March 24, 2019
16:02Demonstration of the Sequence Alignment to Predict Across Species Susceptibility Tool for Rapid Assessment of Protein Conservation
Published on: February 10, 2023
Related Concept Videos
Parkinson's Disease: Overview
Disorders of the Nervous Tissue
Homeostatic Imbalances:
Alzheimer's disease manifests as a gradual decline in memory and cognitive abilities, attributed to the buildup of amyloid plaques and neurofibrillary tangles in the brain.
Parkinson's disease arises...
Alzheimer's Disease: Overview
The clinical diagnosis of AD hinges on the presence of memory and other cognitive impairments. Biomarkers, such as changes in Aβ...
Amyloid Fibrils
Amyloid deposits were observed as early as 1639 in the liver and the spleen. In 1854, Rudolph Virchow performed iodine staining,...
Neural Regulation
Disorders of the Skeletal Muscle
Musculoskeletal disorders
Musculoskeletal disorders involve injuries and conditions affecting the skeletal muscles and associated connective tissues. These disorders can arise from acute biomechanical stresses or chronic overuse and can occur across different age groups. Common injuries include sprains, fractures, and muscular strains, often resulting from...