A case-control study on the association of serum essential elements and malignant tendency of thyroid nodules

Thyroid nodules are a common disease in the world, but the association with serum essential elements is not clear. The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between serum essential elements and thyroid nodules and their malignant tendency, and to provide effective reference for the prevention and treatment of thyroid diseases. A total of 509 patients with malignant thyroid nodules (MTNs) and 454 patients with benign thyroid nodules (BTNs) were included in our study. Basic information was collected through questionnaires and physical examination, serum essential elements was detected by automatic biochemical analyzer, and thyroid function indexes were detected by automatic particle chemiluminescence analyzer. The results showed that the levels of chlorine (CL), magnesium (Mg) and sodium (Na) in the MTNs were lower than those in the BTNs, but the level of phosphorus (P) is reversed. Logistic regression analysis showed that low serum CL, Mg and Na concentrations emerged as consistent risk factors for thyroid nodules malignant tendency in the general population, whereas low P concentrations emerged as consistent protective factor. Our study suggests that the imbalance of certain essential elements (CL, Mg, Na, P) may be related to the malignant tendency of thyroid nodules. Further, partial correlation analysis and multiple linear regression analysis showed that the level of Na was positively correlated with free triiodothyronine (FT3) in female. Therefore, gender is an important factor in studying the association between serum essential elements and the malignant tendency of thyroid nodules, female Na may disturb the balance of thyroid function to some extent.