Seasonality of month of birth in children and adolescents with autoimmune thyroiditis: a continuing conundrum

Abstract

Background The aim of this study was to analyze the seasonal birth month pattern in young patients with autoimmune thyroiditis and compare it with youth controls. Methods Medical records of a total of 298 children and adolescents of Greek origin, with a diagnosis of Hashimoto thyroiditis (HT) before the age of 21 years that were born from 1987 to 2010 were retrospectively reviewed. In addition, 298 consecutive subjects that were born from 1988 to 2012 and evaluated in a tertiary unit for any reason, served as controls, provided that they had no personal or family history of thyroid or any other autoimmune disease. Results Significant differences were found between children and adolescents with HT and healthy controls in the yearly pattern of month of birth distribution (p=0.029). During month-by-month analysis, it was shown that the highest and lowest predispositions to HT were among those born in spring (March) (odds ratio [OR] 2.34, p=0.005), and autumn (November) (OR 0.49, p=0.035), respectively. A binary logistic regression model also revealed that season of birth and sex were the only factors that remained related to HT disease, even after adjustment for confounding factors such as year of birth and age (p<0.001, Nagelkerke r-square 0.151). Conclusions This study suggests that the effect of certain seasonal factors during fetal development, reflected by the seasonal differences in birth pattern, in children and adolescents with autoimmune thyroiditis could contribute to long-term programming of an autoimmune response against the thyroid gland. Further studies are needed to demonstrate a clear cause and effect relationship between month of birth and HT.

Vitamin D and Autoimmune Thyroid Disease—Cause, Consequence, or a Vicious Cycle?

“…A higher risk of autoimmune thyroiditis in subjects born in summer [34] and no relationship between month of birth and GD [35] were described in Danish register-based studies. A higher frequency of birth in spring was noticed in Greek children with HT [36]. Seasonality of birth month may be related to VitD levels (higher frequency of deficit in the end of winter, beginning of spring), but also may relate to viral exposure and other factors which vary in different regions and years [36].…”

“…A higher frequency of birth in spring was noticed in Greek children with HT [36]. Seasonality of birth month may be related to VitD levels (higher frequency of deficit in the end of winter, beginning of spring), but also may relate to viral exposure and other factors which vary in different regions and years [36].…”

The effect of ultraviolet radiation on the incidence and severity of major mental illness using birth month, birth year, and sunspot data

“…[ 98 ] Oct–Dec Jan–Mar Pediatric patients Autism Lee, L. [ 99 ] Mar, May, Sep Jun, Aug, Nov Lee, B. K. [ 100 ] Sep–Nov Dec–Feb Shalev, H. [ 101 ] Aug Nov Torrey, E. F. [ 27 ] Mar Jun ADHD Sucksdorff, M. [ 102 ] Nov–Mar Low vitamin D in gestation Diabetes mellitus type 1 Kahn, H. [ 103 ] Apr–Jul Jul–Oct Diabetes Mellitus Type 2 Grover, V. [ 104 ] Oct is protective Jan African American cohort <18 yrs of age Thyroiditis Thvilum, M. [ 105 ] Jun Sep Autoimmune hypothyroidism Kyrgios, I. [ 106 ] Mar Jun Lowest in Nov Colorectal cancer Francis, N. [ 107 ] Sep Dec Narcolepsy Dauvilliers, Y. [ 108 ] Mar Jun Trough in Sep <...>…”

Polycystic Ovary Syndrome and Endometriosis as Reasons for Women’s Admission to Outpatient Specialist Care in Poland—A Retrospective Analysis

“…The seasonality of health problems is an increasingly common aspect of research within the literature in the context of diseases, as pointed out by, among others, Hlimi (2015), who analysed the relationship between anaemia, pre-eclampsia, eclampsia, and seasonality [25]. Kim and Cheong (2019) investigated the issue of scabies and seasonality, Virág and Nyári (2018) undertook research on the annual and seasonal trends in cardiovascular mortality in Hungary, while Kyrgios et al (2018) investigated the seasonality involving the month of the birth of children and adolescents with autoimmune thyroiditis [26][27][28]. The results of our research show that the women with PCOS came to the doctor within the framework of AOS, mainly in spring and, in the case of those with endometriosis, in winter.…”