Clinical Interventions in Aging (Apr 2018)

Thyroid nodules in centenarians: prevalence and relationship to lifestyle characteristics and dietary habits

  • Yao Y,
  • Chen XH,
  • Wu SZ,
  • Guo L,
  • Zhang H,
  • Zhu Q,
  • Tang J,
  • Luan FX,
  • Zhao YL,
  • Lv FQ,
  • He Y

Journal volume & issue
Vol. Volume 13
pp. 515 – 522

Abstract

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Yao Yao,1,* Xianghui Chen,2,* Shengzheng Wu,2 Liang Guo,3 Hao Zhang,4 Qiao Zhu,5 Jie Tang,3 Fuxin Luan,5 Yali Zhao,5 Faqin Lv,2 Yao He1 1Institute of Geriatrics, Beijing Key Laboratory of Aging and Geriatrics, National Clinical Research Center for Geriatric Disease, Chinese PLA General Hospital, Beijing, People’s Republic of China; 2Department of Ultrasonography, Hainan Branch of PLA General Hospital, Sanya, People’s Republic of China; 3Department of Ultrasonography, Chinese PLA General Hospital, Beijing, People’s Republic of China; 4Department of Health Policy and Management, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, USA; 5Central Laboratory, Hainan Branch of Chinese PLA General Hospital, Sanya, People’s Republic of China *These authors contributed equally to this work Background: Thyroid nodules (TNs) are common thyroid lesions in older population. Few studies have focused on the prevalence of TNs and their relationship to lifestyle characteristics and dietary habits in centenarians. The current study aimed at determining the prevalence of TNs in Chinese centenarians by using high-resolution ultrasound (US) equipment and at investigating its relationship to lifestyle characteristics and dietary habits.Participants and methods: The current study was part of the China Hainan Centenarian Cohort Study that was conducted in Hainan, an iodine-sufficient region in People’s Republic of China. A total of 874 permanent residents aged ≥100 years (mean age =102.8±2.8 years) without any missing data were included in the analysis.Results: Among the participants, 649 of them were detected at least one TN under the US examinations. The overall prevalence rate of TNs was 74.3%. The prevalence of TNs was higher in participants who were women, had hypertension, had diabetes, and were underweight compared with their counterparts. Multivariate logistic regression analyses showed that being female, hypertensive, and diabetic; betel quid consumption; and red meat consumption were independent risk factors, while being underweight and nut consumption were independent protective factors for TNs.Conclusion: Our findings indicate that the presence of TNs was highly prevalent in Chinese centenarians, particularly in women. In addition to gender, having hypertension, having diabetes, and being underweight, the presence of TNs was independently associated with betel quid, red meat, and nut consumption. Further prospective studies are warranted to verify these associations in populations from different age strata, races, cultures, and iodine supplementation.Keywords: thyroid nodules, ultrasound, lifestyle, dietary, betel quid, red meat, nut, centenarians 

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