To evaluate whether subclinical hypothyroidism (SH) is associated with anthropometry and fatty infiltration of liver in obese adolescents. Materials and methods: The adolescents attended with the complaint of obesity aged 11 to 15 years included in the study. Patients were diagnosed as obese adolescents with fatty liver. Age-, gender-, and body weight-matched obese adolescents without fatty liver seen during the same period served as controls. Clinical characteristics, laboratory parameters, and frequency of subclinical hypothyroidism (SH) of both groups were compared. Results: The study population included 218 adolescents with obesity. Of 218, 30 (13.7%) had fatty liver at ultrasonography (group 1) and the remaining 188 obese adolescents did not have fatty liver and served as control (group 2). The mean ages of groups 1 and 2 were 12.7 ± 1.25 and 13 ± 1.39 years; the rate of female participants were 43.3% and 55.8%; and, weight:height ratios were 157.2 ± 24 and 151.3 ± 19.8 (P = 0.37, 0.24, and 0.54, respectively). The prevalence of SH in patients with fatty liver was 10% and was not significantly higher compared to the controls (6.4%, P = 0.55). Conclusions: SH seems to be a secondary condition rather than a triggering factor for development of fatty liver in adolescent obese patients. There was no statistically significant relation between subclinical hypothyroidism and fatty liver.

To evaluate whether subclinical hypothyroidism (SH) is associated with anthropometry and fatty infiltration of liver in obese adolescents. Materials and methods: The adolescents attended with the complaint of obesity aged 11 to 15 years included in the study. Patients were diagnosed as obese adolescents with fatty liver. Age-, gender-, and body weight-matched obese adolescents without fatty liver seen during the same period served as controls. Clinical characteristics, laboratory parameters, and frequency of subclinical hypothyroidism (SH) of both groups were compared. Results: The study population included 218 adolescents with obesity. Of 218, 30 (13.7%) had fatty liver at ultrasonography (group 1) and the remaining 188 obese adolescents did not have fatty liver and served as control (group 2). The mean ages of groups 1 and 2 were 12.7 ± 1.25 and 13 ± 1.39 years; the rate of female participants were 43.3% and 55.8%; and, weight:height ratios were 157.2 ± 24 and 151.3 ± 19.8 (P = 0.37, 0.24, and 0.54, respectively). The prevalence of SH in patients with fatty liver was 10% and was not significantly higher compared to the controls (6.4%, P = 0.55). Conclusions: SH seems to be a secondary condition rather than a triggering factor for development of fatty liver in adolescent obese patients. There was no statistically significant relation between subclinical hypothyroidism and fatty liver.