Abstract
Background/Objectives
The interplay of subclinical hypothyroidism (SH) with obesity has been well-documented, while an intriguing but still controversial association with kidney damage (KD) has recently emerged. Given the heightened cardiometabolic risk inherent to pediatric obesity, this might further impact on the overall health of children with obesity. Therefore, we aimed at evaluating the impact of SH on KD in children with obesity.
Subjects/Methods
We retrospectively examined 355 children with obesity stratified according to presence or absence of SH. KD was defined as reduced estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR<90 mL/min/1.73 m2) and/or hypertension, and/or albuminuria (≥30 mg/g urinary creatinine), while SH was defined by thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) > 4.5μ UI/ml with normal free triiodothyronine and free thyroxine levels.
Results
Children with SH showed a higher KD prevalence than those without SH (p = 0.004). They also had lower eGFR levels than their counterparts without SH (p = 0.001) and showed an adjusted OR to have KD of 2.04 (95% CI: 1.15–3.61; p = 0.015). A general linear model for eGFR variance showed an inverse association of eGFR with TSH levels (p < 0.0001).
Conclusions
Although preliminary, our data suggested an increased risk of KD in children with obesity and SH.
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Fig. 1: Regression analysis describing the relationship between TSH and eGFR in the entire population.
Data availability
The datasets used during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.
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Authors and Affiliations
Department of Woman, Child, and General and Specialized Surgery, University of Campania “Luigi Vanvitelli”, Naples, Italy
Anna Di Sessa, Josè Alberto D’Anna, Rosa Melone, Gianmario Forcina, Giusy Capasso, Giuseppina Rosaria Umano, Emanuele Miraglia del Giudice & Pierluigi Marzuillo
Authors
Anna Di Sessa
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2. Josè Alberto D’Anna
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3. Rosa Melone
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4. Gianmario Forcina
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5. Giusy Capasso
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6. Giuseppina Rosaria Umano
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7. Emanuele Miraglia del Giudice
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8. Pierluigi Marzuillo
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Contributions
Conceptualization: ADS and PM; methodology: ADS and EMDG; software: ADS, PM, and JADA; validation: EMDG and PM; formal analysis: ADS, JADA, and PM; investigation: JADA, GC, and EMDG; data curation: RM, GC, GF, and GRU; writing—original draft preparation: ADS and PM; writing—review and editing: ADS, PM, and EMDG; visualization: PM and EMDG; supervision: PM. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.
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Correspondence to Anna Di Sessa.
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Di Sessa, A., D’Anna, J.A., Melone, R. et al. Role of subclinical hypothyroidism on kidney damage in children with obesity. Int J Obes (2025). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41366-025-01752-2
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Received:08 September 2024
Revised:23 February 2025
Accepted:17 March 2025
Published:23 March 2025
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1038/s41366-025-01752-2
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