Table 1.
Study characteristics at baseline measurement of thyroid function
| Study, Place | Participants, n | Age, mean (range), y | Women, n (%) | BMI, mean (range), kg/m2 | Thyroid medication†, n (%) | Median TSH, mIU/l | Normal range FT4, pmol/l | Positive TPOAb, n (%) | Last available follow-up mean ±S.D., y |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PROSPER Study, the Netherlands | 4774 | 75 (69–83) | 2316 (49) | 27 (15–50) | 159 (3) | 1.9 | 12–18 | N.A. | 3.2 ± 0.7 |
| ELSA-Brasil, Brazil | 10839 | 51 (35–74) | 6004 (55) | 27 (15–58) | 675 (6) | 2.0 | 12–22 | 1198 (11) | 3.8± 0.4 |
| BARI Study, Italy | 170 | 61 (26–87) | 37 (22) | 28 (17–48) | 24 (14) | 2.2 | 9–23.2 | N.A. | 1.0± 0 |
| Leiden-85+ Study, the Netherlands | 232 | 85 (85–85) | 70 (30) | 27 (15–40) | 11 (5) | 1.6 | 13–23 | N.A. | 5.0± 0 |
| KLoSHA Study, South Korea | 560 | 77 (65–105) | 309 (55) | 23 (15–33) | 5 (0.9) | 2.6 | 11–23 | 31 (5) | 5.0± 0 |
| Rotterdam Study, the Netherlands | 8251 | 64 (45–101) | 4735 (57) | 27 (13–54) | 239 (3) | 1.9 | 11–25 | 1054 (13) | 8.3± 2.6 |
| Pizarra Study, Spain | 853 | 39 (18–66) | 525 (62) | 27 (16–47) | 3 (0.4) | 1.8 | 11–22 | 33 (4) | 6.7± 1.5 |
| MrOS, United States | 1237 | 74 (65–99) | 0 (0) | 27 (17–45) | 91 (8) | 2.0 | 9–24 | N.A. | 6.9± 0.4 |
| Di@bet.es Study, Spain | 3827 | 49 (18–93) | 2246 (59) | 28 (14–61) | 152 (4) | 2.1 | 11–22 | 320 (8) | 7.6± 0.5 |
| PREVEND Study, the Netherlands | 5692 | 52 (32–80) | 2864 (50) | 26 (17–58) | 123 (3) | 1.6 | 12–22 | 569 (10) | 7.7± 0.8 |
| HIMS, Australia | 740 | 75 (70–87) | 0 (0) | 26 (15–40) | 18 (2) | 2.0 | 10–23 | N.A. | 8.7± 0.9 |
| InChianti Study, Italy | 1044 | 68 (21–102) | 590 (57) | 27 (18–43) | 18 (2) | 1.4 | 10–27 | N.A. | 9.0± 0.2 |
| Health ABC Study, United States | 2178 | 75 (69–81) | 1138 (52) | 27 (15–51) | 218 (10) | 2.1 | 10–23 | N.A. | 9.2± 0.1 |
| EPIC-Norfolk Study, United Kingdom | 8386 | 58 (40–78) | 4596 (55) | 26 (15–59) | 5 (0.1) | 1.7 | 9–20 | N.A. | 9.2± 0.9 |
| Tehran Thyroid Study, Iran | 4586 | 39 (20–86) | 1895 (41) | 26 (15–52) | 81 (2) | 1.6 | 12–20 | 527 (11) | 9.8± 0.9 |
| CHS, United States | 3194 | 75 (64–98) | 1921 (60) | 26 (14–59) | 250 (8) | 2.2 | 9–22 | 413 (13) | 6.0± 0 |
| Busselton Health Study, Australia | 1966 | 49 (18–90) | 961 (49) | 25 (16–45) | 15 (0.8) | 1.5 | 9–23 | 223 (11) | 13± 0 |
| Whickham Survey, England | 2649 | 47 (18–93) | 1391 (53) | 25 (15–45) | 101 (4) | 2.1 | 3.6–13.6* | 179 (7)** | 21.9± 9.9 |
| Total | 61178 | 58 (18–105) | 29870 (49) | 26 (13–59) | 2188 (3) | 1.8 | N.A. | 4547 (10.7) | 8.2± 3.5 |
PROSPER: prospective study of Pravastatin in the elderly at risk Study; ELSA-Brasil: Brazilian Longitudinal Study of Adult Health; Leiden 85+ Study: Leiden 85-plus Study; KLoSHA: Korean Longitudinal Study on Health and Aging Study; MrOS: Osteoporotic Fractures in Men Study; PREVEND: Prevention of Renal and Vascular End-stage Disease Study; HIMS: Health in Men Study; InChianti: Invecchiare in Chianti Study; Health ABC Study: The Health, Aging and Body Composition Study; EPIC-Norfolk Study: European Prospective Investigation into Cancer - Norfolk Study; CHS: Cardiovascular Health Study; TPOAb: thyroid peroxidase antibodies
Total T4 (μg/dL)
Antimicrosomal antibodies were used for the Whickham Survey as data on thyroid peroxidase antibodies was not available
Thyroid medication was defined as levothyroxine or anti-thyroid medication use