Association between long-term exposure to environmental coarse particulate matter and the prevalence of thyroid disorders: a cross-sectional study in China.

Authors

Changyuan Liu, Jie Li, Bingxin You, Zhongyan Shan, Weiping Teng, Yongze Li

Published in

Journal of endocrinological investigation. Jul 13, 2026. Epub Jul 13, 2026.

Abstract

Evidence linking long-term exposure to particulate matter with thyroid dysfunction is increasing, but data on particulate matter 10 micrometers or less (PM10) exposure and thyroid disorders remain limited.
73,900 subjects aged ≥ 18 years from a nationwide population-based study were included. Thyroid disorders were determined using standardized biochemical testing and thyroid ultrasound examination. Individual long-term PM10 exposure was estimated at a 1 × 1 km spatial resolution using a Space-Time Extra Trees model, and the five-year average concentration preceding enrollment was assigned to each participant's residential address. Weighted estimates were calculated to account for the complex sampling design.
The average long-term exposure to PM10 at residential addresses was 111.74 µg/m³, ranging from 35.08 µg/m³ to 374.8 µg/m³. Compared with those in the first quartile (35.08 to 75.50 µg/m³), participants in the highest PM10 quartile (130.80 to 374.80 µg/m³) had higher odds of overt hypothyroidism (OR 1.36 [CI 1.03-1.79]), subclinical hypothyroidism (1.14 [1.04-1.25]), autoimmune thyroiditis (1.10 [1.01-1.20]) and thyroglobulin antibody positivity (1.24 [1.12-1.37]). Each 10 µg/m³ increase in the PM10 concentration was associated with higher odds of overt hypothyroidism (OR 1.16 [1.07-1.25]) and subclinical hypothyroidism (1.07 [1.04-1.10]). TgAb positivity showed an increasing exposure-response pattern across PM10 concentrations. No consistent significant associations were observed for overt hyperthyroidism, subclinical hyperthyroidism, Graves' disease, or thyroid peroxidase antibody positivity.
Long-term PM10 exposure was associated with higher odds of overt hypothyroidism, subclinical hypothyroidism, autoimmune thyroiditis, and TgAb positivity among Chinese adults. These findings suggest that coarse particulate pollution may be a modifiable environmental factor related to hypothyroidism and thyroid autoimmunity.

PMID:
42440239
Bibliographic data and abstract were imported from PubMed on 13 Jul 2026.

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