Many adipokines, such as leptin and adiponectin, have important roles in regulating immunity and have been considered as pivotal links between obesity and obesity-related diseases, and the sex-specific roles of adipokines may thus be involved in the sex-specific associations of obesity with hypothyroidism and TAI (Wilk et al., 2011; Fantuzzi, 2013; Versini et al., 2014; Gerriets et al., 2016; Obeid et al., 2017). This evidence concerns the gene LEP and hypothyroidism.