Adults with subclinical hyperthyroidism have a 34% increased risk of fracture-related hospitalisations than those with normal thyroid function, a US cohort study suggests.

This risk was highest in patients with suppressed thyrotropin levels, which the researchers said highlighted “a potential role for more aggressive screening and monitoring to prevent bone mineral disease”.

They added: “Those with mildly suppressed thyrotropin levels (0.1mIU/L to less than 0.56mIU/L) may benefit from being identified as a high-risk group through more aggressive screening.”

Writing in JAMA Network Open, the Harvard Medical School–led team reported that, although the existing literature on this association had been conflicting, their results were consistent with a 2015 meta-analysis of a dozen studies in an older population.