Research Article

Hepatic Steatosis and Thyroid Function Tests in Overweight and Obese Children

Table 3

Adjusted odds ratios (and 95% CIs) of hepatic steatosis, hepatic steatosis with elevated ALT, metabolic syndrome, and its components among 402 overweight/obese children.

Serum TSH value
≤4 mIU/L ( ) >4 mIU/L ( )

Hepatic steatosis
 Adjusted OR (95% CI)+,*1.00 (referent)2.10 (1.22–3.60) <0.01
Hepatic steatosis with elevated ALT
 Adjusted OR (95% CI)+,*1.00 (referent)2.42 (1.29–4.51) <0.01
Central obesity
 Adjusted OR (95% CI)+1.00 (referent)1.32 (0.57–3.01) 0.52
Elevated blood pressure
 Adjusted OR (95% CI)+,*1.00 (referent) 1.31 (0.41–4.17)0.58
Hypertriglyceridemia
 Adjusted OR (95% CI)+,*1.00 (referent)2.58 (1.39–4.78) <0.01
Low HDL-C
 Adjusted OR (95% CI)+,*1.00 (referent)1.97 (0.98–3.98)0.063
Elevated total cholesterol
 Adjusted OR (95% CI)+,*1.00 (referent)2.23 (1.30–3.84) <0.01
Glucose 5.6 mmol/L
 Adjusted OR (95% CI)+,*1.00 (referent) 0
Insulin resistance
 Adjusted OR (95% CI)+,*1.00 (referent)2.62 (1.45–4.74)<0.01
Metabolic syndrome
 Adjusted OR (95% CI)+,*1.00 (referent)2.55 (1.13–5.76) <0.05

Age, gender, pubertal status, and BMI-SDS as well as FT3 and FT4 were included in the model; *similar results were obtained when adjusting for WC (instead of BMI-SDS).
TSH: thyroid-stimulating hormone; OR: odds ratio; CI: confidence interval; ALT: alanine aminotransferase; HDL-C: high-density lipoprotein cholesterol; BMI-SDS: body mass index-SD score; FT3: free triiodothyronine; FT4: free thyroxine; WC: waist circumference.