FREE THYROID HORMONES AND MORTALITY IN CAUCASIANS UNDERGOING ANGIOGRAPHY: THE LUDWIGSHAFEN RISK AND CARDIOVASCULAR HEALTH (LURIC) STUDY

Objective: Alterations in thyroid hormone functions are associated with mortality and morbidity. Data on euthyroid individuals are very limited and controversial. We therefore investigated the relationship between circulating thyroid hormones and all-cause and cardiovascular (CV) mortality in participants of the Ludwigshafen Risk and Cardiovascular Health (LURIC) study and their association with morbidity. Methods: LURIC, a prospective, observational study of a hospital-based cohort of Caucasians, was recruited between June 1997 and May 2001 at the Ludwigshafen General Hospital, Ludwigshafen, Germany. Mortality was recorded for a follow-up period of 10 years. The current investigation includes 2,507 patients without overt thyroid disease who all underwent coronary angiography. Blood was drawn before angiography. We evaluated the association between thyroid hormone concentrations and mortality. Results: Low free triiodothyronine (FT3) (hazard ratio [HR], 1.00 versus 0.54; lowest versus highest quartile) an...