Vol. 9, Issue 12, Part D (2025)

Background: The clustering of metabolic syndrome (MetS) components is a recognized risk factor for nodular thyroid disease (NTD). A critical gap remains in understanding the individual contribution and relative importance of each MetS component to the development of thyroid nodules.

Objective: To delineate the specific associations between the individual components of metabolic syndrome and the presence of nodular thyroid disease.

Methods: A cross-sectional analytical pilot study was conducted involving 70 participants, divided into two groups: 35 with sonographically confirmed benign NTD and 35 healthy controls. Metabolic syndrome was diagnosed according to standard criteria. All participants underwent detailed clinical evaluation, including anthropometric measurements, blood pressure assessment, and fasting blood analysis for glucose, lipids, and thyroid function. According to the exclusion criteria, cases with malignant thyroid nodules were resected. In this study, as thyroid nodules, only benign thyroid nodules were considered. Statistical analyses, including chi-square tests, t-tests, and multiple logistic regression, were employed to identify independent risk factors.

Results: The prevalence of metabolic syndrome was significantly higher in the nodular thyroid disease (NTD) group (68.57%) versus controls (40.00%, p=0.001). Low HDL-cholesterol was the most prevalent component in the NTD group (82.9% vs. 37.1%, p=0.046), followed by impaired fasting glucose (48.6% vs. 25.7%, p=0.004) and hypertension (51.4% vs. 17.1%, p=0.005). Multiple logistic regression confirmed metabolic syndrome as a strong independent risk factor for NTD (OR=5.00, p=0.001).

Conclusion: Specific metabolic syndrome components, particularly low HDL-cholesterol, show strong associations with nodular thyroid disease. Comprehensive metabolic evaluation should be integrated into the assessment of thyroid nodules, highlighting the link between metabolic health and thyroid pathophysiology. The sample size was very small due to the COVID-19 situation.