INTRODUCTION: Thyroid  stimulating  hormone  (TSH)  acts  on  the  thyroid  gland  to  induce  thyroid  hormone  synthesis  and  maintain  trophic  thyroid  cell  integrity.  Earlier  studies  determined  the  role  of  thyroid  hormones  on  bone  metabolism,  skeletal  development  and  establishment  of  peak bone mass, but had conflicting results. This  study  aims to determine the association of TSH levels with bone mineral density (BMD) scores on healthy postmenopausal women.

METHODOLOGY: This  is  a  cross-sectional  study  involving  healthy  postmenopausal   women  seen  at  the  Makati  Medical Center (MMC). Linear correlation of TSH and BMD scores  was  determined  by  Pearson  correlation  analysis.  Odds  ratio  (OR)  for  osteoporosis  and/or  osteopenia  in  range-based categories of TSH was computed using binary logistic  regression.

RESULTS: TSH  levels  were  found  to  have  weak  inverse correlation  with  lowest  BMD  scores,  spine  and  femur  (p-value  0.959,  0.491  and  0.715  respectively).  OR  for  osteoporosis has no statistical significance for each range-based  categories  of  TSH.  Women  with  TSH  levels  of  2.50-3.49  mU/l  has  lower  OR  (p value 0.032, OR 0.23, 95% CI)  of having  osteoporosis  or  osteopenia  than  in  women  in  the  reference  category but was not significant after adjustment with other variables (p- value 0.107).

CONCLUSION: There is no significant association between TSH levels  and  BMD  scores  amongst  healthy  postmenopausal  woman.  Odds  of  having  osteoporosis  and/or  osteopenia  have  no  statistical  significant correlation  with  any  given  range  of  TSH  levels.  Age,  amongst  other  variables,  remained  a  significant  factor  in  having  osteoporosis  and/or  osteopenia.