Correlation Between Hashimoto's Thyroiditis–Related Thyroid Hormone Levels and 25-Hydroxyvitamin D

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to further clarify the association of Hashimoto's thyroiditis (HT) and vitamin D deficiency, and to seek the connection between them and related influencing factors. Methods: Data were obtained from subjects who underwent health examinations from January 2018 to December 2018. The diagnosis of HT was based on: antithyroid peroxidase antibody (TPO-Ab) levels >35 IU/ml and/or antithyroglobulin antibody (Tg-Ab) levels >40 IU/ml. Based on the Endocrine Society guidelines, 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D] levels ≥30.0 ng/ml were classified as a vitamin D sufficiency; those between 20 and 29.9 ng/ml, as an insufficiency; and those <20 ng/ml, as a deficiency. All statistical analysis was performed by software R. Results: Of a total of 75,436 individuals who were physically examined, 5,656 of them had 25(OH)D levels tested at the same time; 5,230 were enrolled. The level of 25(OH)D in the non-HT group was higher than that in the HT group. Multiple regression analysis showed that HT was statistically significantly correlated with being male, body mass index (BMI), waist circumference, and thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH). TSH levels in the insufficiency group and deficiency group were higher than those in the sufficiency group. Free triiodothyronine (FT3) and thyroxine (FT4) levels in the insufficiency group and deficiency group were lower than those in the sufficiency group. 25(OH)D increased by 1 ng/ml at the normal reference level, with an increase of 2.78 ng/dl in FT4 concentration and a decrease of 0.17 mIU/L in TSH. Conclusions: Patients with HT present with a reduced 25(OH)D level, and TSH is an independent risk factor for HT. TSH is negatively correlated with 25(OH)D level. FT3 and FT4 levels were positively correlated with 25(OH)D levels.

Vitamin D and Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis: Observations from CROHT Biobank

“…The most similar study to ours, by sample size and result, was reported by Kim et al [ 47 ] who observed a significant negative correlation between vitamin D and serum TSH in the group of 369 AITD patients and 407 controls after adjustment for sample season, age, sex, and BMI (r = −0.127, p = 0.013). Chao et al [ 28 ] also observed a negative correlation and a similar effect to ours between vitamin D and TSH in 5230 participants, of which 373 were HT cases.…”

“…The next important observation of our study is a nominally significant weak negative correlation between vitamin D levels and TSH in all HT patients ( Table 4 ). The majority of studies observed significant associations between vitamin D deficiency and TSH values in HT patients or weak negative correlations between vitamin D levels and TSH [ 28 , 46 , 47 , 48 ]. The most similar study to ours, by sample size and result, was reported by Kim et al [ 47 ] who observed a significant negative correlation between vitamin D and serum TSH in the group of 369 AITD patients and 407 controls after adjustment for sample season, age, sex, and BMI (r = −0.127, p = 0.013).…”

“…Since then, a large number of studies tried to clarify the association of vitamin D with HT by analyzing differences in vitamin D levels between HT cases and control participants, but without reaching consistent results. The most recent study found lower vitamin D levels in 373 HT cases in comparison to 4889 control participants who had vitamin D measured at the same time; however, after performing multivariate logistic regression the study concluded that vitamin D was not associated with HT [ 28 ]. Another recent systematic review, meta-analysis and meta-regression of observational studies [ 29 ] reported a significant association between vitamin D status and HT, suggesting that HT patients have lower serum 25(OH)D concentrations than those without HT.…”

Vitamin D, Thyroid Hormones and Cardiovascular Risk: Exploring the Components of This Novel Disease Triangle

“…A meta-analysis [including 6/3 studies with continuous/dichotomous 25(OH)D levels] showed that HT patients had lower values compared to controls, and more likely have 25(OH)D deficiency ( Wang et al, 2015 ). Moreover, data on the inverse correlation between vitamin D values with thyroid volume, and duration and severity of HT, and TH and thyroid antibody levels further reinforcing the idea that vitamin D deficiency might play a role in the risk, onset and development of HT ( Muscogiuri et al, 2016 ; Chao et al, 2020 ).…”

The exploration of Hashimoto's Thyroiditis related miscarriage for better treatment modalities

“…Vitamin D has been found to play an increasingly crucial regulatory role in bone metabolism, the mucosal barrier, and the immune system in the past few decades. More recently, numerous studies have highlighted that an insufficient level of 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D] is significantly associated with HT 123 - 125 .…”