To study the risk factors of obesity and polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) patients with subclinical hypothyroidism (SCH), and evaluate its screening value.

The clinical data of obese patients who attended the Department of Weight Loss and Metabolism in the Second Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University from January 1, 2021 to July 1, 2021 were retrospectively analyzed, according to the prevalence of PCOS, they were divided into PCOS group and control group, the differences in the prevalence of SCH between the two groups were compared. The PCOS group was further divided into combined SCH group and uncombined SCH group, and the general measurement data, sex hormones, thyroid function, biochemical indicators of all patients were analyzed.

A total of 172 patients were enrolled, including 104 patients with simple obesity and 68 obese patients with PCOS. The incidence of SCH in the PCOS group was significantly higher than that in the control group (36.76% vs. 17.31%; P=0.004, χ²=8.302). The results of multivariate analysis showed that age and waist-to-hip ratio (P=0.016, OR=1.144; P=0.044, OR=10.387) were statistically significant between the two subgroups. Receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC) analysis showed that the combined use of age and waist-to-hip ratio could increase the area under the curve (AUC), and the sensitivity and specificity of diagnosing SCHwere 55.8% and 88.0%, respectively.

Obesity combined with PCOS had a higher risk of SCH, and age and waist-to-hip ratio were independent risk factors. For such patients, age combined with waist-to-hip ratio monitoring had good sensitivity and specificity, and could be used to screen obese PCOS patients with SCH.