Resting Energy Expenditure in Obese Women with Primary Hypothyroidism and Appropriate Levothyroxine Replacement Therapy

Abstract

Context: Growing evidence suggests that appropriate levothyroxine (LT4) replacement therapy may not correct the full set of metabolic defects afflicting individuals with hypothyroidism.

Objective: To assess whether obese subjects with primary hypothyroidism are characterized by alterations of the resting energy expenditure (REE).

Design: Retrospective analysis of a set of data about obese women attending the outpatients service of a single obesity center from January 2013 to July 2019.

Patients: A total of 649 nondiabetic women with body mass index (BMI) > 30 kg/m2 and thyrotropin (TSH) level 0.4-4.0 mU/L were segregated into 2 groups: patients with primary hypothyroidism taking LT4 therapy (n = 85) and patients with normal thyroid function (n = 564).

Main outcomes: REE and body composition assessed using indirect calorimetry and bioimpedance.

Results: REE was reduced in women with hypothyroidism in LT4 therapy when compared with controls (28.59 ± 3.26 vs 29.91 ± 3.59 kcal/kg fat-free mass (FFM)/day), including when adjusted for age, BMI, body composition, and level of physical activity (P = 0.008). This metabolic difference was attenuated only when adjustment for homeostatic model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) was performed.

Conclusions: This study demonstrated that obese hypothyroid women in LT4 therapy, with normal serum TSH level compared with euthyroid controls, are characterized by reduced REE, in line with the hypothesis that standard LT4 replacement therapy may not fully correct metabolic alterations related to hypothyroidism. We are not able to exclude that this feature may be influenced by the modulation of insulin sensitivity at the liver site, induced by LT4 oral administration.

Keywords: HOMA-IR; bariatric surgery; class II-III obesity; indirect calorimetry; thyrotropin.