Study Links Vitamin D to Thyroid Health

by | Feb 2, 2017 | 2017, Thyroid, Vitamin D - General, Vitamin D - Recommended Levels, Vitamins

Written by Greg Arnold, DC, CSCS. Researchers found that Vitamin D deficiency is significantly higher in patients with autoimmune thyroid disease, particularly in patients with Hashimoto’s Disease and Grave’s Disease.

thyroidVitamin D is a fat-soluble vitamin obtained by exposure to the ultraviolet rays in sunlight and from food to which it has been added (such as milk) 1. Without sufficient vitamin D, bones can become thin, brittle, or misshapen. 2 However, research has shown that having a vitamin D deficiency in your blood can also increase your risk of cardiovascular disease 3, cancer 4 and infections 5.

In addition to chronic diseases, vitamin D deficiency may increase your risk of a certain class of disease called “autoimmune” disease, in which the immune system mistakenly attacks its own tissues 6. Some autoimmune diseases known to be associated with vitamin D deficiency include type I diabetes mellitus 7, rheumatoid arthritis 8 and systemic lupus erythematous 9.

Researchers have also started to find an association between vitamin D deficiency and thyroid health. The thyroid is an organ that is “vitally important” to controlling the growth and maturation (including pregnancy) through hormones 10. When autoimmune antibodies attack the thyroid gland, it can result in an underactive thyroid (a condition called Hashimoto’s Disease) or a hyperactive thyroid (a condition called Grave’s Disease) 6.

Research has suggested that vitamin D deficiency may increase the risk of autoimmune thyroid disease. In a 2011 study 11, researchers obtained blood samples from 92 subjects (21 men, 71 women) aged 29 to 68 who were admitted to an endocrinology clinic in Hungary. Fifty of the 92 subjects were diagnosed with either Grave’s Disease (22 subjects) or Hashimoto’s (28 subjects). Blood samples from the 92 subjects were used to measure their vitamin D levels and were compared to the vitamin D blood levels of 98 age-matched healthy controls. Vitamin D deficiency is defined as having blood levels below 10 nanograms/milliliter.

The researchers found that 58 of the 92 clinic subjects (63%) were vitamin D deficient compared to 30 of the 98 controls (30%) (p < 0.001). Seventy-two % (36/50) of patients with thyroiditis had AITD. Of these AITD patients, those with Hashimoto’s Disease (79%) (22/28) and Grave’s Disease (64%) (22/28 had particularly higher levels of vitamin D (P,0.001) and (P,0.01) respectively.

The researchers went on to conclude that “significantly lower levels of vitamin D were documented in patients with autoimmune thyroid diseases” and that “our data and those of others point to the involvement of vitamin D in the pathogenesis of autoimmune thyroid diseases”. Finally, the researchers state their results “argue for screening for vitamin D levels in patients with thyroid diseases.”

Source:  Kivity, Shaye, et al. “Vitamin D and autoimmune thyroid diseases.” Cellular & molecular immunology 8.3 (2011): 243-247. 

© 2011 CSI and USTC. All rights reserved 1672-7681/11 

Posted February 2, 2017.  

Greg Arnold is a Chiropractic Physician practicing in Hauppauge, NY.  You can contact Dr. Arnold directly by emailing him at PitchingDoc@msn.com or visiting his web site at www.PitchingDoc.com.

References:

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  11. Kivity S, Agmon-Levin N, Zisappl M, et al. Vitamin D and autoimmune thyroid diseases. Cellular & molecular immunology. 2011;8(3):243-247.