Research Article Details

Article ID: A37839
PMID: 14506393
Source: J Clin Gastroenterol
Title: Is hypothyroidism a risk factor for non-alcoholic steatohepatitis?
Abstract: PURPOSE: Thyroid hormones play an important role in the regulation of lipid and carbohydrate metabolism, both of which are affected in patients with non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH). Anecdotally, we have observed that a number of patients with NASH carried a diagnosis of hypothyroidism. However, it is unknown if thyroid dysfunction plays any role in the pathogenesis of NASH. To further investigate this observation, we conducted a case-control study to determine the association between hypothyroidism and NASH. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: Cases were defined as patients with well-documented NASH attending hepatology clinics at Indiana University Hospital from January 1, 1995 to December 31, 2000. Age, gender, race, and body-weight matched individuals seen during the same period in the general medical clinics served as controls. Patients with a previous diagnosis of hypothyroidism who are currently on synthetic T4 replacement were considered to be "hypothyroid". The strength of association was assessed by logistic regression analysis after controlling for the frequency of diabetes mellitus, hyperlipidemia, and hypertension. RESULTS: One hundred seventy-four patients with NASH (cases) and 442 controls were included. The mean age of cohort was 49 +/- 13 years, 59% were female, and 98% were white. The prevalence of hypothyroidism in patients with NASH was 15% was significantly higher than in the controls (7.2%, P < 0.001). By multivariate analysis, the prevalence of hypothyroidism in the NASH group was significantly higher than in control group (OR: 2.3, 95% CI: 1.2-4.2, P = 0.008). CONCLUSION: These data suggest that hypothyroidism is associated with human NASH. Further research is needed to confirm this finding and to understand its implications.
DOI: 10.1097/00004836-200310000-00014

Strategy ID Therapy Strategy Synonyms Therapy Targets Therapy Drugs

Target ID Target Name GENE Action Class UniProtKB ID Entry Name

Diseases ID DO ID Disease Name Definition Class
I12 10763 Hypertension An artery disease characterized by chronic elevated blood pressure in the arteries. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hypertension, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24352797 disease of anatomical entity/ cardiovascular system disease/vascular disease/ artery disease Details
I04 1459 Hypothyroidism A thyroid gland disease which involves an underproduction of thyroid hormone. https://medlineplus.gov/hypothyroidism.html disease of anatomical entity/ endocrine system disease/ thyroid gland disease Details
I05 9352 Type 2 diabetes mellitus A diabetes that is characterized by chronic hyperglycaemia with disturbances of carbohydrate, fat and protein metabolism resulting from defects in insulin secretion, insulin action, or both. A diabetes mellitus that is characterized by high blood sugar, insulin resistance, and relative lack of insulin. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diabetes, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diabetes_mellitus_type_2 disease of metabolism/inherited metabolic disorder/ carbohydrate metabolic disorder/glucose metabolism disease/diabetes/ diabetes mellitus Details

Drug ID Drug Name Type DrugBank ID Targets Category Latest Progress
D328 Serine Chemical drug DB00133 SRR Improve insulin resistance Under clinical trials Details
D203 Levothyroxine Chemical drug DB00451 THRA agonist; THRB agonist Anti-fibrosis Under clinical trials Details
D316 S-adenosyl-L-methionine Chemical drug DB00118 GNMT cofactor Antiviral Under clinical trials Details
D094 Cysteamine Chemical drug DB00847 GSS stimulant Renal drug Under clinical trials Details
D095 Cysteamine bitartrate Chemical drug DB00847 -- -- Under clinical trials Details