Investigating the Correlation Between Thyroid-Stimulating Hormone (TSH) and Key Reproductive Hormones: A Cross-Sectional Study

• Mustafa Mohamed Drah

  Faculty of Medical Science, University of Misrata, Misrata, Libya

  Author

• Hajar Sulaiman Al-Mansouri

  Faculty of Medicine, Community Department, Derna University, Derna, Libya

  Author

• Fathia Faid

  Faculty of Health Science, Nutrition Department University of Misrata, Misrata, Libya

  Author

Thyroid-Stimulating Hormone (TSH) serves as a primary indicator of thyroid function, and its dysregulation has been clinically associated with various reproductive disorders. The study aimed to investigate the statistical correlation between serum TSH levels and concentrations of Follicle-Stimulating Hormone (FSH), Luteinizing Hormone (LH), Estradiol (E2), and Prolactin (PRL) in a clinical dataset. Methods: A retrospective, cross-sectional analysis was conducted on a dataset comprising 1,007 individuals. Following the exclusion of records with missing values for the hormones of interest, a final analytical sample of 120 participants was included. Descriptive statistics were computed, and both Pearson and Spearman correlation coefficients were calculated to assess linear and monotonic relationships between TSH and the four reproductive hormones. Statistical significance was defined as P-value < .05 (two-tailed). Results: Mean (±SD) hormone concentrations were as follows: TSH, 2.371 ± 2.904 mIU/L; FSH, 7.210 ± 5.994 IU/L; LH, 6.059 ± 3.507 IU/L; E2, 48.350 ± 60.374 g/mL; and PRL, 17.151 ± 13.528 ng/mL.Correlation analysis revealed no statistically significant associations between TSH and any of the reproductive hormones using either, TSH, FSH R = 0.031, P-value = 0 .735; P-value = 0.028, P-value = 0.762), TSH vs. LH (R = 0.056, P-value = 0.543; P-value = 0.049, P-value = .598), TSH. E2 (R= 0.105, P-value = 0.256; P-value = 0.098, P-value P-value = 0.289), and TSH, PRL (R = 0 .116, P-value = 0.206; P-value = 0 .103, P-value = 0 .264). Conclusion: Within this cohort, no significant linear or monotonic correlation was detected between serum TSH levels and concentrations of FSH, LH, E2, or PRL. These findings are constrained by notable limitations, including a high proportion of missing data (88.1% exclusion rate), sample heterogeneity, and lack of clinical stratification. The results underscore the complexity of the thyroid-reproductive axis and suggest that direct correlations may not be evident without accounting for clinical status, age, sex, and other potential confounding factors.

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