The association between subclinical hypothyroidism and TPOAb positivity with infertility in a population-based study: Tehran thyroid study (TTS)

BACKGROUND: Thyroid autoimmunity(TAI) is the most prevalent autoimmune condition in women of fertile age. There are increasing data regarding the association of thyroid dysfunction and thyroid autoimmunity with adverse pregnancy outcomes but there is no consensus regarding infertility and TPOAb positivity; thus we aimed to evaluate the association between thyroid TPOAb positivity and infertility in females and males in a population-based study (TTS). METHODS: Cross-sectional study of 3197 female and male participants in Tehran Thyroid Study (TTS) at the framework of the Tehran Lipid and Glucose Study (TLGS). Data included biochemical measurements and a self-administered questionnaire. RESULTS: A total of 12,823 cases in phase 4, 3719 cases (2108 female and 1611 male) were analyzed. The mean TSH of the infertile female and male was 2.52 ± 2.68 μIU/ml and 3.24 ± 10.26 μIU/ml respectively. The TPO median(IQR) of women with and without a history of infertility were 6.05 (3.30–13.96)and 6.04 (3.17–11.15);(P = 0.613), they were 5.08 (3.20–125.68) and 5.31 (3.93–125.68);(P = 0.490) in male participants, respectively. Results of crude and adjusted logistic regression analysis of the development of infertility by thyroid function and TPOAb, except for fT4 in male subjects, depicted no association between infertility and other variables in both crude and adjusted models. CONCLUSION: Based on the result, thyroid autoimmunity was not associated with infertility in both females and males. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12902-021-00773-y.