ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Oncol.
Sec. Cancer Epidemiology and Prevention
Volume 15 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fonc.2025.1658717
Prevalence of thyroid nodules and canceration risk assessment in TIRADS, and their relationships to obesity and dysglycemia
Provisionally accepted
Weikang Wang1*
Ling Xiao1Mei He2
Ruimei Feng3
Xiaoyin Huang1
Qingling Su1Xiujian Xue2
Zhijian Hu1
Qian Zhang1
Shanshan Du1Hong Lin2
Weimin Ye1- 1Department of Epidemiology and Health Statistics, School of Public Health, Fujian Medical University, Fuzhou, China
- 2Fuqing City Hospital of Fujian, Fuqing, China
- 3Shanxi Medical University, Taiyuan, China
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Objective. To describe the prevalence of thyroid nodules (TNs), their ultrasonographic characteristics, and the cancer risk assessment using the Thyroid Imaging Reporting and Data System (TIRADS) in a natural population, while also exploring their association with multiple metabolic disorders. This study aims to provide insight into the disease burden of TNs in the coastal area of Southeast China. Design: A cross-sectional study. Setting and participants: A total of 6221 participants from the baseline survey of the Fuqing Cohort Study, an ongoing population-based study in a coastal city of Southeast China, were included. Primary and secondary outcome measures: TNs and its detailed ultrasonographic characteristics, risk grading in TIRADS, and metabolic factors. Results. The age-and sex-standardized prevalence of TNs was found to be 67.2%, with a higher prevalence observed in females and an increase with age. Additionally, multiple, solid, and < 10 mm TNs were common. Approximately 39.2% of participants were diagnosed with grade 3, while 2.3% were classified as grade ≥4a according to TIRADS. Metabolic syndrome was associated with TNs, but this association was significant only in females. The relationship between metabolic disorders and the characteristics and grade of TNs in TIRADS varied by sex. Conclusion. The prevalence of TNs in the coastal area of Southeast China is notable, with 2.3% of the population classified as grade ≥4a in TIRADS, indicating a high risk of cancer and necessitating further assessment for thyroid cancer. The association
Keywords: Thyroid Nodule, Imaging characteristics, Thyroid imaging reporting and data system, metabolic disorders, Cross-sectional study
Received: 04 Jul 2025; Accepted: 10 Sep 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Wang, Xiao, He, Feng, Huang, Su, Xue, Hu, Zhang, Du, Lin and Ye. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Weikang Wang, Department of Epidemiology and Health Statistics, School of Public Health, Fujian Medical University, Fuzhou, China
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