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Association of Plasma Connective Tissue Growth Factor Levels with Hyperthyroid Heart Disease

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Summary

Hyperthyroid heart disease (HHD) is one of the most severe complications of overt hyperthyroidism and increases the risk of mortality in affected patients. Early identification of patients at a higher risk of developing HHD can improve clinical outcomes through active surveillance and management. Connective tissue growth factor (CTGF), a secreted extracellular protein, plays a significant role in cardiac remodeling and dysfunction. We aimed to investigate the association between plasma CTGF level and the risk of HHD in this study. A total of 142 overt hyperthyroid patients without HHD and 99 patients with HHD were included. The plasma CTGF levels were measured using ELISA kits. Routine clinical medical data and echocardiography parameters were recorded for analysis. The plasma CTGF level was significantly higher in patients with HHD than in those without HHD (P=0.002). The plasma CTGF level was positively correlated with free triiodothyronin, tryrotropin receptor antibody, troponin I and lactate dehydrogenase levels and the left atrium diameters, right atrium diameters, and right ventricular end-diastolic diameters (all P<0.05). Logistic regression analysis showed that quartiles 3 and 4 of plasma CTGF levels were significantly associated with the increased risk of HHD (crude OR: 2.529; 95% CI: 1.188–5.387). However, after adjustment for the potentially confounding variables, quartile 4 alone was significantly associated with the higher risk of HHD relative to quartile 1. Hyperthyroid patients with HHD display higher plasma CTGF levels. Furthermore, CTGF is an independent risk factor for HHD. Therefore, the plasma CTGF level may be a potential biomarker for the risk of HHD.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Endocrinology, Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, 430022, China

    Huan Li, Ren-li Zeng, Yun-fei Liao, Meng-fei Fu, Huan Zhang & Yu-ming Li

  2. Hubei Provincial Clinical Research Center for Diabetes and Metabolic Disorders, Wuhan, 430022, China

    Huan Li, Ren-li Zeng, Yun-fei Liao, Meng-fei Fu, Huan Zhang & Yu-ming Li

  3. Department of Gastrointestinal Surgery, Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, 430022, China

    Lin-fang Wang

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  1. Huan Li
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  2. Ren-li Zeng
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Correspondence to Lin-fang Wang or Yu-ming Li.

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Conflict of Interest Statement

All authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest.

This study was supported by Natural Science Foundation of Hubei Province from the Science and Technology Department of Hubei Province, China (No. 2013CFB091).

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Li, H., Zeng, Rl., Liao, Yf. et al. Association of Plasma Connective Tissue Growth Factor Levels with Hyperthyroid Heart Disease. CURR MED SCI 41, 348–355 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11596-021-2354-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11596-021-2354-x

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