Abstract
Alterations in thyroid function may contribute to the development of liver fibrosis especially in subjects with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. This study aimed to investigate the risk of liver fibrosis according to low-normal thyroid function in the general population. We performed a descriptive cross-sectional study in subjects from 18-75 years randomly selected from 16 primary health care centers from 2017-2019. Each subject underwent clinical evaluation, physical examination, blood analysis and transient hepatic elastography. Descriptive and multivariate logistic regression analyses were used to identify factors associated with fibrosis. We included 1096 subjects (60 ± 11 years; 61% women); 70% had strict-normal thyroid function and 30% had low-normal thyroid function. Low-normal thyroid function was associated with a higher liver stiffness (LS) values: 5.2 vs. 4.8 kPa (p = 0.001) and a greater prevalence of fibrosis: 6.1 vs. 3% (p = 0.016) and 4.3 vs. 2.1% (p = 0.044) for the cut-off points of ≥8.0 kPa and ≥9.2 kPa, respectively. After adjustment for potential confounding factors, the risk of fibrosis in subjects with low-normal thyroid function was OR 1.54 (p = 0.213). In conclusion, low-normal thyroid function is associated with higher LS values and a greater risk of liver fibrosis in the general population, being dependent on other metabolic factors.