Evidence map›Paper›PMID 33754627›Full record

ArticleThe Journal of clinical endocrinology and metabolism2021

Causal Association Between Serum Thyrotropin and Obesity: A Bidirectional, Mendelian Randomization Study.

Xichang Wang, Xiaotong Gao, Yutong Han, Fan Zhang, Zheyu Lin, Hong Wang, Weiping Teng, Zhongyan Shan

Open access · bronzeAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in The Journal of clinical endocrinology and metabolism, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 33 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
33citing papers in PubMed, 2 pooled it
6.2field-weighted citation impact, top 3% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

33 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 53 citations in OpenAlex.

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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

8 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.

Xichang WangDepartment of Endocrinology and Metabolism and the institute of Endocrinology, The First Hospital of China Medical University, Shenyang, Liaoning, 110001, P.R. China.ORCID 0000-0002-3559-1950
Xiaotong GaoDepartment of Endocrinology and Metabolism and the institute of Endocrinology, The First Hospital of China Medical University, Shenyang, Liaoning, 110001, P.R. China.
Yutong HanDepartment of Endocrinology and Metabolism and the institute of Endocrinology, The First Hospital of China Medical University, Shenyang, Liaoning, 110001, P.R. China.
Fan ZhangDepartment of Endocrinology and Metabolism and the institute of Endocrinology, The First Hospital of China Medical University, Shenyang, Liaoning, 110001, P.R. China.
Zheyu LinDepartment of Endocrinology and Metabolism and the institute of Endocrinology, The First Hospital of China Medical University, Shenyang, Liaoning, 110001, P.R. China.
Hong WangDepartment of Endocrinology and Metabolism and the institute of Endocrinology, The First Hospital of China Medical University, Shenyang, Liaoning, 110001, P.R. China.
Weiping TengDepartment of Endocrinology and Metabolism and the institute of Endocrinology, The First Hospital of China Medical University, Shenyang, Liaoning, 110001, P.R. China.
Zhongyan ShanDepartment of Endocrinology and Metabolism and the institute of Endocrinology, The First Hospital of China Medical University, Shenyang, Liaoning, 110001, P.R. China.ORCID 0000-0002-2849-2380
First Hospital of China Medical University · CN

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

contextThe association between serum thyrotropin (TSH) and obesity traits has been investigated previously in several epidemiological studies. However, the underlying causal association has not been established.

objectiveThis work aimed to determine and analyze the causal association between serum TSH level and obesity-related traits (body mass index [BMI] and obesity).

methodsThe latest genome-wide association studies (GWASs) on TSH, BMI, and obesity were searched to obtain full statistics. Bidirectional 2-sample mendelian randomization (MR) was performed to explore the causal relationship between serum TSH and BMI and obesity. The inverse variance-weighted (IVW) and MR-Egger methods were used to combine the estimation for each single-nucleotide variation (formerly single-nucleotide polymorphism). Based on the preliminary MR results, free thyroxine (fT4) and free 3,5,3'-triiodothyronine (fT3) levels were also set as outcomes to further analyze the impact of BMI on them. BMI and obesity were treated as the outcomes to evaluate the effect of serum TSH on them, and TSH was set as the outcome to estimate the effect of BMI and obesity on it.

resultsIVW and MR-Egger results both indicated that genetically driven serum TSH did not causally lead to changes in BMI or obesity. Moreover, the IVW method showed that the TSH level could be significantly elevated by genetically predicted high BMI (β = .038, SE = 0.013, P = .004). In further MR analysis, the IVW method indicated that BMI could causally increase the fT3 (β = 10.123, SE = 2.523, P < .001) while not significantly affecting the fT4 level.

conclusionTogether with fT3, TSH can be significantly elevated by an increase in genetically driven BMI.

Indexed as

Body Mass IndexCausalityGenome-Wide Association StudyHumansMendelian Randomization AnalysisObesityPolymorphism, Single NucleotideThyroid Function TestsThyrotropinThyrotropinBMImendelian randomizationobesityTSH

Identifiers

PMID33754627
PMCPMC8475201
OpenAlexW3137594017

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.