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Vitamin D deficiency is associated with thyroid autoimmunity: results from an epidemiological survey in Tianjin, China

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Abstract

Purpose

The pathogenesis of Hashimoto’s thyroiditis (HT) is unclear, although some studies have identified an association between vitamin D deficiency and thyroid autoantibody positivity. This study aimed to investigate vitamin D status, and its relationships with thyroid autoantibody positivity and HT, via a large epidemiological survey.

Methods

The epidemiological survey was conducted in Tianjin, China. All participants underwent testing for serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25OHD), thyroid function, and thyroid autoantibodies, and some participants underwent testing to evaluate CD4+ T-cell differentiation and concentrations of related cytokines.

Results

The study included 1812 participants and revealed prevalences of 13.1% for thyroid peroxidase antibodies (i-TPOAb) and 14.0% for thyroglobulin antibodies (i-TgAb). Logistic regression analysis revealed that thyroid autoantibody positivity was associated with sex, age, and 25OHD classification. An increased likelihood of i-TPOAb positivity was associated with 25OHD deficiency (odds ratio [OR]: 2.428, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.383–4.261) and 25OHD inadequacy (OR: 1.198, 95% CO: 0.828–1.733; p = 0.008). An increased likelihood of i-TgAb positivity was associated with 25OHD deficiency (OR: 2.366, 95% CI: 1.366–4.099) and 25OHD inadequacy (OR: 1.263, 95% CI: 0.883–1.807; p = 0.009). Relative to healthy subjects, patients with HT had significantly higher proportions of Th1 and Th17 cells, as well as higher concentrations of related cytokines.

Conclusions

This study revealed that vitamin D deficiency was associated with thyroid autoantibody positivity, and that vitamin D deficiency seems to be involved in the pathological mechanism underlying HT. Large randomized controlled trials are needed to investigate the effects of vitamin D supplementation on HT.

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Data availability

All relevant data are included in the published report and its associated files.

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Funding

This work was supported by the Research Fund for Public Welfare from the National Health and Family Planning Commission of China (Grant No. 201402005).

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Author notes

  1. These authors contributed equally: Fang Fang, Yun Chai

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Endocrinology and Metabolism, Tianjin Medical University General Hospital, Tianjin, 300052, China

    Fang Fang, Yun Chai, Hongyan Wei, Kunling Wang, Yuxin Fan, Fengao Li & Mei Zhu

  2. Department of Nutrition and Food Hygiene, School of Public Health, Tianjin Medical University, Tianjin, 300070, China

    Long Tan & Wanqi Zhang

  3. Department of Endocrinology and Metabolism and Institute of Endocrinology, The First Hospital of China Medical University, Shenyang, 110001, China

    Zhongyan Shan

Authors
  1. Fang Fang
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  2. Yun Chai
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  3. Hongyan Wei
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  4. Kunling Wang
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  5. Long Tan
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  10. Mei Zhu
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Contributions

F.F. and Y.C. wrote the manuscript. Z.S. and M.Z. were involved in the design and conduction of the study. F.F., Y.C., H.W., K.W., L.T., W.Z., and F.L. were involved in collecting materials. Y.F. was involved in statistical analysis of the data. M.Z. was involved in data interpretation. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Mei Zhu.

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Conflict of interest

The authors declare no competing interests.

Ethical approval

The study protocol was approved by the ethics committee of the First Hospital of China Medical University (AF-SOP-07-1.0-01).

Consent to participate

All participants provided informed consent before being included in the study.

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Fang, F., Chai, Y., Wei, H. et al. Vitamin D deficiency is associated with thyroid autoimmunity: results from an epidemiological survey in Tianjin, China. Endocrine 73, 447–454 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12020-021-02688-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12020-021-02688-z

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