Thyroid : official journal of the American Thyroid Association
April 13, 2026 · via Europe PMC
Menopause-Related Health Outcomes in Women with Differentiated Thyroid Carcinoma Receiving Long-Term TSH Suppression after Total Thyroidectomy.
Candemir B, Akın S, Candemir M, Gulcelik NE.
AI summary — for doctors, generated from the abstract only
Postmenopausal women on long-term TSH suppression after thyroid cancer surgery had worse cardiovascular health scores, quality of life, bone, and muscle measures than comparison groups.
What was studied
A cross-sectional study comparing 107 postmenopausal women with DTC on TSH suppression for ≥3 years, 80 women on levothyroxine replacement for hypothyroidism, and 97 euthyroid controls using menopause-specific assessments.
Key findings
- DTC group had lower Life's Essential 8 and Utian QoL scores, higher carotid IMT, more osteoporosis, and less muscle mass; specific statistic not fully captured in the abstract
- Cumulative levothyroxine dose was independently associated with lower LE8 and QoL scores; specific statistic not fully captured in the abstract
Clinical relevance
Supports avoiding unnecessary long-term TSH suppression, particularly in low-risk disease-free women; cross-sectional data cannot prove causation.
Who should care
Limitations
Cross-sectional design; several statistics are truncated in the abstract.
Long-term TSH suppression may carry postmenopausal health costs.
This is an AI-generated summary of the published abstract, not a clinical recommendation. It may not reflect the full text or subsequent updates — verify against the original source before acting on it.
Abstract
Background
There is uncertainty regarding whether thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) suppression therapy in postmenopausal women with differentiated thyroid cancer (DTC) is associated with menopause-specific health concerns. This study aimed to determine whether prolonged TSH suppression confers an additional burden on postmenopausal health by comprehensively evaluating cardiovascular health (CVH), quality of life (QoL), muscle mass, and bone health using menopause-specific assessment tools.
Methods
A cross-sectional study was conducted involving three groups of postmenopausal women 107 patients with DTC receiving TSH suppression therapy following total thyroidectomy for ≥3 years, 80 women receiving levothyroxine (LT4) replacement for primary hypothyroidism, and 97 euthyroid controls. Women with cognitive impairment, a history of osteoporosis, or cardiovascular disease were excluded. CVH was assessed using Life's Essential 8 (LE8) score, carotid intima-media thickness (cIMT), and electrocardiography. QoL was assessed using the Utian QoL (UQoL) Scale, cognition by the Mini-Mental State Examination, body composition by bioelectrical impedance analysis, and bone density by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry.
Results
Women with DTC demonstrated significantly lower LE8 scores, lower UQoL scores, higher cIMT values, higher prevalence of osteoporosis, and reduced muscle mass than those in the other two groups (p p p p = 0.003, and p = 0.017, respectively). Multivariable regression analysis revealed that cumulative LT4 dose was independently associated with lower LE8 and UQoL scores (β = -0.354, p p p = 0.002; and β = 0.487, p < 0.001, respectively).
Conclusions
Prolonged TSH suppression may adversely affect postmenopausal health, particularly in low-risk, disease-free women with DTC. The primary clinical implication of these findings is the need to avoid unnecessary long-term TSH suppression. Menopause-specific assessment tools may have a complementary role in selected patients in whom TSH suppression remains clinically indicated.
DOI
10.1177/10507256261442839
PMID
41969134
Research metadata (titles, abstracts, authors, publication dates) is sourced from Europe PMC, which aggregates content from PubMed/MEDLINE, PubMed Central, and other providers under the U.S. National Library of Medicine (NLM/NCBI). NLM does not claim copyright on abstracts; the original journal publishers or authors may hold rights to the full articles. AI-generated summaries are derived only from the abstract, never the full text, and are always labeled as AI-generated.
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