Seasonal changes in tsh levels.

[hairyfairy]

Iv`e noticed that over the years that Iv`e been having my tsh levels checked, the levels seem to rise in autumn, & fall in spring. does anyone know why this should be?

[helvella Administrator Thyroid UK]

As I only get offered one TSH test a year, I am not privileged enough to have seen that. However it is well known and documented. Many people need slightly more thyroid hormone in the winter months than the summer. Reasons are NOT clear.

Rod

[Spareribs in reply to helvella]

Here are my TSH levels in case anyone does research!

(2 high Spring results - 1 after my op and 1 before I supplemented Vit D)

Autumn 09 - 3.5

Spring 10 - 1.61

Autumn 10 - 2.5 (PT op)

Spring 11 - 5.24

Autumn 11 - 3.77

Spring 12 - 5.12 (then started Vit D)

Autumn 12 - 4.1

Spring 13 - 1.69

Autumn 13 - 4.57

This is without Thyroid medication. Vit D spray now taken Oct to March. J

[diogenes Remembering]

There's quite a bit of work on this and you are quite right to expect higher TSH in autumn/winter and lower in spring/summer. Here are 3 sources:

Int J Circumpolar Health. 1998;57 Suppl 1:383-5.

Seasonal variation of serum TSH and thyroid hormones in males living in subarctic environmental conditions.

Leppäluoto J1, Sikkilä K, Hassi J.

J. Biomedical Science and Engineering, 2011, 4, 462-471 JBiSE

doi:10.4236/jbise.2011.46058 Published Online June 2011 (SciRP.org/journal/jbise/).

Published Online June 2011 in SciRes. scirp.org/journal/JBiSE

The annual cycle of the pituitary-thyroid axis activity in

healthy men under prolonged cold air exposure

Evgeny Bojko, Anastasiya Kaneva, Natalya Potolitsyna

NATIONAL JOURNAL OF MEDICAL RESEARCH

Vol 1 Issue 2 Oct – Dec 2011 : ISSN 2249 4995 Page 57

ORIGINAL ARTICLE

VARIATION IN THYROID HORMONES LEVEL AMONG

PEOPLE OF DIFFERENT AGE, GENDER AND SEASONS,

PIPARIA, GUJARAT

Pallavi Chaurasia, Bhautik Modi, Sarita Mangukiya, Pranay Jadav, Rita Shah