Korean J Fam Pract 2020; 10(2): 116-122  https://doi.org/10.21215/kjfp.2020.10.2.116
Association between Hypothyroidism and Chronic Kidney Disease in Korean Adults: A Study Based on the Sixth Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES VI), 2013–2015
Seok Young Jang1, Ye Seul Yang1, Junyoung Yoon1, Jae Moon Yun1, Woo Kyung Bae2, Choon-Young Kim3, Ju Young Kim3, Kiheon Lee3,*
1Department of Family Medicine, Seoul National University Hospital, Seoul; 2Department of Family Medicine, Health Promotion Center, Seoul National University Bundang Hospital; 3Department of Family Medicine, Seoul National University Bundang Hospital, Seongnam, Korea
Kiheon Lee
Tel: +82-31-787-7809, Fax: +82-31-787-4834
E-mail: keyhone2@snu.ac.kr
ORCID: http://orcid.org/0000-0002-7139-2342
Received: September 3, 2019; Accepted: February 22, 2020; Published online: April 20, 2020.
© The Korean Academy of Family Medicine. All rights reserved.

This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0) which permits unrestricted noncommercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Abstract
Background: Previous studies suggested the correlation between thyroid and kidney functions, especially the high prevalence of hypothyroidism in chronic kidney disease. This study aimed to evaluate the influence of hypothyroidism on kidney function in Korean adults by using data from a representative nationwide survey.
Methods: This was a cross-sectional study composed of 5,250 individuals aged ≥19 years who were enrolled in the sixth Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. The participants were classified into three groups of patients with euthyroidism, subclinical hypothyroidism, and overt hypothyroidism according to thyroid function. Chronic kidney disease was defined as having a decreased estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) of <60 mL/min/1.73 m2. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were used to evaluate the prevalence and adjusted odds ratio (aOR) of chronic kidney disease.
Results: Compared with the euthyroidism group, the subclinical and overt hypothyroidism groups showed higher prevalence rates of chronic kidney disease in both sexes. This tendency was significant in the elderly people aged ≥65 years. In the multivariate logistic regression analysis, the subclinical hypothyroidism group did not show a significant difference (adjusted odds ratio [aOR], 1.78; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.82–3.87) from the euthyroidism group. In the overt hypothyroidism group, the aOR of chronic kidney disease was significantly higher (aOR, 5.90; 95% CI, 1.73–20.15) than that in the euthyroidism group.
Conclusion: Overt hypothyroidism was associated with decreased eGFR and may be considered as an independent risk factor of chronic kidney disease.
Keywords: Hypothyroidism; Glomerular Filtration Rate; Chronic Kidney Disease; Renal Insufficiency, Chronic
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