Thyroid peroxidase antibodies were associated with prevalent carotid intima-media thickness in middle-age and older adults: the ELSA-Brasil cohort

Vandrize Meneghini; William R Tebar; Itamar S Santos; Carolina C P S Janovsky; Ana C Varella; Paulo A Lotufo; José A Sgarbi; Patrícia F S Teixeira; Isabela M Benseñor

doi:10.1007/s40618-024-02475-3

Thyroid peroxidase antibodies were associated with prevalent carotid intima-media thickness in middle-age and older adults: the ELSA-Brasil cohort

J Endocrinol Invest. 2024 Oct 9. doi: 10.1007/s40618-024-02475-3. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Vandrize Meneghini¹, William R Tebar¹, Itamar S Santos^{1

2}, Carolina C P S Janovsky^{1

3}, Ana C Varella¹, Paulo A Lotufo^{1

2}, José A Sgarbi⁴, Patrícia F S Teixeira⁵, Isabela M Benseñor^{6

7}

Affiliations

¹ Center for Clinical and Epidemiological Research, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, SP, Brazil.
² Department of Internal Medicine, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, SP, Brazil.
³ Division of Endocrinology, Escola Paulista de Medicina, Universidade Federal de São Paulo, São Paulo, SP, Brazil.
⁴ Division of Endocrinology and Metabolism, Department of Medicine, Faculdade de Medicina de Marilia, Marilia, SP, Brazil.
⁵ Faculty of Medicine, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil.
⁶ Center for Clinical and Epidemiological Research, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, SP, Brazil. isabensenor@gmail.com.
⁷ Department of Internal Medicine, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, SP, Brazil. isabensenor@gmail.com.

PMID: 39382627
DOI: 10.1007/s40618-024-02475-3

Abstract

Purpose: Understanding the relationship between antithyroperoxidase antibodies (TPOAb) and carotid intima-media thickness (cIMT) could provide insights into the mechanisms linking thyroid autoimmunity and cardiovascular disease. We aimed to explore the association of multiple categories of TPOAb with the increased cIMT at baseline and at follow-up in participants from the ELSA-Brasil Study.

Methods: This prospective cohort study analyzed data from 9,264 participants (51.5 ± 8.9 years old, 55.9% women) without a history of cardiovascular disease. Fasting serum TPOAb levels were determined. Values of cIMT equal to or above one deviation standard of the sample's mean were classified as increased cIMT at baseline. The increased cIMT after the 8-year follow-up was calculated after excluding participants with increased cIMT at baseline. Multivariate analyses were done using binary logistic and Poisson regression models.

Results: The increased cIMT was prevalent in 14.3% of the participants at baseline and its development occurred in 16.8% participants during the cohort. After adjustment for all confounder variables, TPOAb detectability (OR = 1.84, 95%CI = 1.21-2.79), and low detectable (OR = 1.81, 95%CI = 1.18-2.75), high detectable (OR = 2.01, 95%CI = 1.29-3.11) and positive (OR = 1.70, 95%CI = 1.07-2.70) TPOAb were positively associated with increased cIMT at baseline. The associations of low and high detectable TPOAb and increased cIMT at baseline were consistent when excluding those with thyroid dysfunction. There was no statistically significant association between TPOAb levels and increased cIMT at follow-up (p > 0.05), neither for all sample nor for euthyroid individuals.

Conclusion: Different levels of TPOAb, including its detectability, were associated with increased cIMT at baseline in the studied sample. We highlight that may be relevant to consider the levels of TPOAb detectability as possible marker of increased cardiovascular risk.

Keywords: Autoimmune thyroiditis; Carotid atherosclerosis; Iodide peroxidase.

Abstract

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