{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,18]],"date-time":"2026-08-18T10:24:36Z","timestamp":1787048676044,"version":"build-2736575974"},"reference-count":29,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"4","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,18]],"date-time":"2026-08-18T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1787011200000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Epidemiologia"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Background\/Objectives: Long-term thyroid function in war veterans remains insufficiently characterized. This study examined the prevalence of thyroid dysfunction in Croatian Homeland War veterans compared to controls. Methods: Cross-sectional study comparing 337 male veterans (mean age 62.4 years) with 335 age-comparable male controls (mean age 61.7 years). Thyroid function was assessed via TSH and FT4. The main outcome of interest was the prevalence of subclinical hypothyroidism (TSH over 4.0 mIU\/L with normal FT4). Results: Subclinical hypothyroidism was more prevalent in veterans (12.5%, 42\/335) than controls (5.2%, 16\/305; OR = 2.59, 95% CI: 1.42\u20134.71, p = 0.001). After adjustment for age and BMI, the association remained significant (adjusted OR = 2.25, 95% CI: 1.19\u20134.23, p = 0.012). Mean TSH was modestly higher in veterans (2.53 \u00b1 1.47 vs. 2.06 \u00b1 1.10 mIU\/L, p = 0.001), with both groups\u2019 mean values within the normal reference range. Other biochemical parameters showed no significant differences. Conclusions: Veterans showed a higher prevalence of subclinical hypothyroidism compared to controls. The clinical significance of this finding requires further investigation, as mean TSH values remained within normal limits in both groups. The cross-sectional design precludes causal inference, and unmeasured confounders may contribute to the observed association.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/epidemiologia7040113","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,18]],"date-time":"2026-08-18T09:06:41Z","timestamp":1787044001000},"page":"113","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Higher Prevalence of Subclinical Hypothyroidism in Croatian War Veterans: A Cross-Sectional Study"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"7","author":[{"given":"Dino","family":"Pavi\u010di\u0107","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Polyclinic Medikol, Vo\u0107arska Cesta 106, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Zrinka","family":"\u010colak Romi\u0107","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Neurology, Clinical Hospital Dubrava, Avenija Gojka \u0160u\u0161ka 6, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Josip","family":"\u010curi\u0107","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Polyclinic Medikol, Vo\u0107arska Cesta 106, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Ivija","family":"Rajkovi\u0107","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Polyclinic Medikol, Vo\u0107arska Cesta 106, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Irijana","family":"Rajkovi\u0107","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Polyclinic Medikol, Vo\u0107arska Cesta 106, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-0760-9922","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Anton","family":"Glasnovi\u0107","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Croatian Institute for Brain Research, School of Medicine, University of Zagreb, \u0160alata 12, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-5830-7131","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Ingrid","family":"Prka\u010din","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Polyclinic Medikol, Vo\u0107arska Cesta 106, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-2901-0646","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Dario","family":"Raheli\u0107","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Vuk Vrhovac University Clinic for Diabetes, Endocrinology and Metabolic Diseases, Merkur University Hospital, Dugi dol 4a, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia"},{"name":"School of Medicine, Catholic University of Croatia, Ilica 242, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia"},{"name":"School of Medicine, Josip Juraj Strossmayer University, Josipa Huttlera 4, 31000 Osijek, Croatia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-4808-2968","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Tomislav","family":"Bulum","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Vuk Vrhovac University Clinic for Diabetes, Endocrinology and Metabolic Diseases, Merkur University Hospital, Dugi dol 4a, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia"},{"name":"School of Medicine, University of Zagreb, \u0160alata 3, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Sanda","family":"Te\u0161anovi\u0107","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Polyclinic Hygea, Pera \u010cingrije 2, 20000 Dubrovnik, Croatia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-4317-2067","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Branimir","family":"Kutuzovi\u0107 Hackenberger","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Biology, University of Osijek, Cara Hadrijana 8A, 31000 Osijek, Croatia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,18]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1498","DOI":"10.1056\/NEJM199611143352006","article-title":"Mortality among U.S. veterans of the Persian Gulf War","volume":"335","author":"Kang","year":"1996","journal-title":"N. 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