Related factors of thyroid stimulating hormone expression and its predictive value for hyperthyroidism in people living in a high altitude area

Objective To analyze serum thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) in 1 915 people in government departments and institutions living at an altitude of 2 600 meters, and explore the factors affecting the abnormal expression of serum TSH. Methods In September 2017, thyroid function tests were performed on 1 915 people in government departments and institutions at an altitude of 2 600 meters above sea level. Their fasting blood samples were collected to measure TSH, thyroxine (TT₄), triiodothyronine (TT₃), free thyroxine (FT₄), and free triiodothyroglastin (FT₃), and the factors affecting the abnormal expression of TSH were discussed. Meanwhile, thyroid function tests were performed on another 1 900 people in in government departments and institutions at a normal altitude area to analyze the relationship between abnormal expression of TSH and altitude. Results There were 321 subjects with abnormal TSH in the high altitude area (16.76%) and 125 subjects with abnormal TSH in the normal altitude area (6.58%), with statistical difference (P<0.05). There were no statistical difference in TT₄, TT₃, FT₄ and FT₃ between subjects with normal and abnormal TSH in the high altitude area (P>0.05). With the increase of ages, the percentage of female subjects with abnormal TSH in each age range was higher than that of male subjects (P<0.05). Conclusions The percentage of abnormal thyrotropin is high in the population living in the high altitude area, especially for women. It is necessary to monitor the thyroid function for women in pregnancy.