International Journal of Endocrinology and Metabolism
Volume:19 Issue: 4, Oct 2021

Hashimoto’s thyroiditis (HT) is themost prevalent autoimmune disease, and there is no definitive treatment available for this disease. To find the appropriate therapeutic approach, it is necessary to determine the mechanism of this disease. To achieve this purpose, the frequency of CD4+ T cells was evaluated in patients with HT and compared with healthy individuals.

Twenty-six female patients with HT, aged 20 - 45 years, enrolled in this study. Based on the level of thyroglobulin antibody (anti-TG) and anti-thyroid peroxidase antibody (anti-TPO) in serum of patients with HT, they were divided into two groups. The serum level of anti-TPO was above 100 IU/mL in the group 1 (n = 13), whereas the serum levels of both anti-TPO and anti-TG were above 100 IU/mL in the group 2 (n = 13). Eleven healthy women were considered control group, or group 3. Using flow cytometry, the frequency of T helper (Th)1, Th2, Th17, T regulatory type 1 (Tr1), and LT CD4+ IL-4+ IL-17+ cells and mean fluorescent intensity (MFI) of their related cytokines were evaluated.

The frequency of Th2 cells in the groups 1 (anti-TPO > 100) and 2 (anti-TPO > 100 and anti-TG > 100) were more than control group. Only the difference between groups 3 (healthy control) and 2 was significant (P = 0.022). The frequency of LT CD4+ IL-4+ IL-17+ cells in the group 1 was significantlymore than group 3 (P = 0.027); However, the difference between group 2 and 3 was not significant (P = 0.126). The expression of interferon-gamma (IFN-γ) in the group 2 (P = 0.001) and group 1 (P = 0.001) was significantly higher than group 3. The frequency of Th17, Th1, and Tr1 cells and MFI of IL-17 and IL-10 were not significantly different between the study groups.

In the present study, no significant differences were observed in the frequency of Th17 and Tr1 cells and in MFI of IL-17 and IL-10 in comparison to healthy individuals. Therefore, trying to make a change in the population of these cells probably does not have a significant therapeutic effect. Since Th2 cells and the expression of IFN-γ increased in women with HT, reducing the frequency of Th2 cells or the expression of IFN-γ may be effective in controlling the disease progression. It may be helpful for these patients to prevent the progression of the disease.

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has been one of the deadliest pandemics in recent decade. The virus has specifically targeted the comorbid population in terms of mortality. The present systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to determine the overall mortality and diabetes-associated mortality in COVID-19 patients.

To obtain the related data, six databases, including Pubmed, Embase, MEDLINE, Web of Science, Google Scholar, and DOAJ, were searched. The full-texts of articles presenting the data of COVID-19 mortality and diabetes-associated mortality were screened and retrieved. Statistical analysis was performed using the Stata (version 13). The odds ratio (OR) of mortality in diabetic patients was calculated with 95% confidence interval (CI). Random-effects model was used to synthesize data for the relevant outcomes. Heterogeneity was evaluated using I2 statistic. Forest plots visually showed the effect estimates of the included studies. We used funnel plots to evaluate potential publication bias. A two tailed P < 0.05 was considered as statistically significant.

A total of 35 studies with 25,934 patients were finally included for meta-analysis. The pooled prevalence of diabetes mellitus in patients with COVID-19 was 16.8% (n = 4381). The overall mortality seen in all the studies was 12.81% (n = 3159), and diabetesassociated mortality was 22.14% (n = 970). The pooled analysis of included studies showed that diabetes mellitus had a significantly higher mortality rate (22.14% vs. 12.81%, P < 0.05) with higher odds of death (pooled OR 1.83, 95% CI: 1.61 - 2.05). The funnel plot was symmetric, thereby indicating a low risk of publication bias.

In conclusion, the presence of diabetes was associated with a significantly increased risk of mortality in patients admitted to the hospital with COVID-19. Thus, this subpopulation must be continuously monitored for glycemic levels, coagulation abnormalities, and inflammatory surge.

Maternal characteristics have been known to be associated with parenting practices, which could eventually influence their child’s weight and health-related quality of life (HRQoL).

This study aimed to assess the direct and indirect associations of maternal emotional states (depression, anxiety, and stress) with body mass index (BMI) and HRQoL in their children.

This study was conducted within the framework of the Tehran lipid and glucose study (TLGS). Participants were the children (n = 231) enrolled in TLGS during 2014 - 2016, who had complete data on maternal emotional states. The body weight and height of children were measured using the standard protocol, and BMI Z-score was determined using Anthroplus. Also, HRQoL in children and emotional states in mothers were assessed using the Iranian version of the pediatric quality of life inventory (PedsQLTM4.0) and the depression, anxiety, and stress scale (DASS-21), respectively. Structural equations modeling (SEM) was used to assess the direct and indirect relations of maternal emotional states with children’s BMI Z-score and HRQoL.

Mean age, BMI Z-score, and HRQoL total score in children were 13.8 ± 3.1 years, 0.74 ± 1.5, and 84.7 ± 11.3, respectively. In the mothers, median DASS-21 scores (interquartile ranges) in the three scales of depression, anxiety, and stress were 4 (0 - 10), 6 (2 - 12), and 14 (8 - 20), respectively. Maternal level of education was significantly associated with the DASS-21 score (β = -0.23, 95% CI: -0.37,-0.07). Maternal DASS-21 score was significantly associated with BMI Z-score only in girls (β = 0.25, 95% CI: 0.06, 0.53). Significant determinants of HRQoL in boys were the child’s age (β = -0.21, 95% CI: -0.40, -0.01) and maternal education (β = -0.24, 95%CI: -0.44, -0.02) and emotional state (β = -0.24, 95% CI: -0.44, -0.03). The child’s age (β = -0.33, 95% CI: -0.53, -0.10) and maternal emotional state (β = -0.31, 95% CI: -0.54, -0.08) were significantly associated with HRQoL in girls.

The maternal emotional state is an important determinant of HRQoL in children, regardless of their weight status. Further research is recommended to examine the current hypothesized model in rural and suburban populations, taking into consideration more influential factors.

Autoimmune thyroid diseases are the most frequent autoimmune disorders, with a global prevalence of about 10%. Several mechanisms have been proposed to induce autoimmune thyroid responses by infectious agents. In this study, we aimed to evaluate the association between parvovirus B19 infection and autoimmune thyroid disorders.

Adult patients with newly diagnosed Graves’ disease (GD) and Hashimoto’s thyroiditis (HT) and healthy euthyroid controls were recruited. Various clinical and biochemical parameters, including thyroid function tests and serum parvovirus B19 antibody level (IgG), were assessed and compared between the groups.

In this study, data from 404 cases with HT, 248 cases with GD, and 480 healthy individuals as a control group were analyzed. The prevalence of parvovirus B19 infection in patients with HT and GD and controls was 61.1%, 58.9%, and 47.1%, respectively. In the group of patients with HT, there was a significant positive correlation between the B19 IgG and TPOAb (r = 0.764, P < 0.001) and TgAb (r = 0.533, P < 0.001). Also, in patients with GD, the B19 IgG had a significant positive correlation with TPOAb (r = 0.779, P < 0.001) and TgAb (r = 0.467, P < 0.001).

Parvovirus B19 infection is commonly seen in patients with autoimmune thyroid disorders.

Following menopause, the risk of many diseases is increased, and this situation may be due to changes in anthropometric indices (AI), while the association between adiposity and age at natural menopause (ANM) is not clear yet.

This longitudinal study was conducted to investigate the ability of AI in predicting ANM.

For this purpose, a total of 3,876 women aged > 20 years old from participants of the Tehran lipid and glucose study (TLGS) met our eligibility criteria. The association between ANM and various AIs was assessed using the Accelerated Failure Time (AFT) model, and time ratio (TR) with 95% confidence intervals was reported in this longitudinal study.

The median [interquartile range (IQR) 25 - 75] of the survival time was 12.5 (7.9 - 15.8) years. At the end of the follow-up, 1,479 (38.2%) of the participants reached menopause. The median time to natural menopause was decreased by about 2% with one standard deviation (SD) increase of both a body shape index (ABSI) (time ratio (TR): 0.98, 95% CI: 0.97, 0.99) and lipid accumulation product (LAP) (TR: 0.98, 95% CI: 0.98, 0.99) z-scores; and this time was increased by about 1% (TR: 1.01, 95% CI: 1.00, 1.02) with one SD increase in body mass index (BMI) z-score.

The ABSI, LAP, and BMI were the most useful AIs for identification of the time to menopause onset, and ABSI and LAP were inversely associated with the ANM. Also, the BMI was directly associated with the ANM.

The actions of adipocytokines may be a connective factor between obesity and polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). It is suggested that irisin, as recently described cytokine secreted by skeletal muscles and glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide (GIP) as an incretin hormone that induces cytokine expression, may play key roles in favoring obesity in these women.

We aimed to evaluate the association between body mass index (BMI) and serum concentrations of irisin/GIP in women with and without PCOS in the linear and non-linear models.

This cross-sectional study was conducted among 159 PCOS and 82 healthy eumenorrheic non-hirsute women aged 20 - 50 years. The fractional-polynomial model was used to develop a model of continuous risk factors, which evaluates non-linear associations between irisin/GIP and BMI among women with and without PCOS.

Women with PCOS were significantly younger (28.2 ± 5.8 vs. 33.0 ± 7.8 years, P < 0.001) and had a greater BMI (26.6 ± 5.2 vs. 25.2 ± 4.8 kg/m2 , P = 0.04) than the healthy counterparts. There were no significant linear and non-linear associations between serum concentration of irisin/GIP and BMI in both groups. The analysis of pair-wise age and BMI matching of women with PCOS and controls confirmed these findings.

This study showed that irisin and GIP have no association with BMI in women with or without PCOS. This finding could help to better understand the underlying pathophysiological status of PCOS, insulin resistance, and obesity-related disorders. Further large cohort studies are needed to confirm these findings.