This paper describes the effects of age and FT3 levels on Covid mortality
Free triiodothyronine levels and age influences the metabolic profile and COVID-19 severity parameters in euthyroid and levothyroxine-treated patients·
November 2022· Frontiers in Endocrinology 13· ·
DOI: 10.3389/fendo.2022.1025032·
Inés Amich, Eduardo Anguita, Silvia Escribano-Serrat, Susana Alemany et al
Metabolic reprogramming is required to fight infections and thyroid hormones are key regulators of metabolism. We have analyzed in hospitalized COVID-19 patients: 40 euthyroid and 39 levothyroxine (LT4)-treated patients in the ward and 29 euthyroid and 9 LT4-treated patients in the intensive care unit (ICU), the baseline characteristics, laboratory data, thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH), free thyroxine (FT4), free triiodothyronine (FT3), the FT3/FT4 ratio, 11 antiviral cytokines and 74 metabolomic parameters. No evidence for significant differences between euthyroid and LT4-treated patients were found in the biochemical, metabolomic and cytokines parameters analyzed. Only TSH (p=0.009) and ferritin (p=0.031) showed significant differences between euthyroid and LT4-treated patients in the ward, and TSH (p=0.044) and FT4 (p=0.012) in the ICU. Accordingly, severity and mortality were similar in euthyroid and LT4-treated patients. On the other hand, FT3 was negatively related to age (p=0.012), independently of sex and body mass index in hospitalized COVID-19 patients. Patients with low FT3 and older age showed a worse prognosis and higher levels of the COVID-19 severity markers IL-6 and IL-10 than patients with high FT3. IL-6 negatively correlated with FT3 (p=0.023) independently of age, body mass index and sex, whereas IL-10 positively associated with age (p=0.035) independently of FT3, body mass index and sex. A metabolomic cluster of 6 parameters defined low FT3 ward patients. Two parameters, esterified cholesterol (p=4.1x10 ⁻⁴ ) and small HDL particles (p=6.0x10 ⁻⁵ ) correlated with FT3 independently of age, body mass index and sex, whereas 3-hydroxybutyrate (p=0.010), acetone (p=0.076), creatinine (p=0.017) and high-density-lipoprotein (HDL) diameter (p=8.3x10 ⁻³ ) were associated to FT3 and also to age, with p-values of 0.030, 0.026, 0.017 and 8.3x10 ⁻³ , respectively. In conclusion, no significant differences in FT3, cytokines, and metabolomic profile, or in severity and outcome of COVID-19, were found during hospitalization between euthyroid patients and hypothyroid patients treated with LT4. In addition, FT3 and age negatively correlate in COVID-19 patients and parameters that predict poor prognosis were associated with low FT3, and/or with age. A metabolomic cluster indicative of a high ketogenic profile defines non-critical hospitalized patients with low FT3 levels.
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Thank you diogenes. My thinking cannot be said to be "fog free" at the moment, so forgive me if I'm not grasping what is there......is it saying what I think it's saying, that low T3 is not a "good thing" where covid is concerned? and I wonder if this applies to many conditions eg dementia/alzeimers, heart issues etc?
If someone with Covid has lower FT3, then the prognosis for death is higher. However, this is also true of other nonthyroidal illnesses, so Covid joins with those.
Had the vaccine booster jab..the rest is up to God, my lifting that low T3, which I am trying to do...apparently unsuccessfully so far, and my T4 has dropped as well...pleases my GP ......
Doing my best on that front pennyannie, but still struggling with the head pain. Am hoping now I'm back on MP levo, my system will settle down, and I can try a smaller starter dose of the prescribed NDT x
Thank you humanbean. I opened the first one.... saw what it said, and realised I'm not up to dealing with another threat of early death today...covid is one thing...my heart will need to wait for another day. Thank you for thinking of me, and when I feel up to dealing with what they have to say, I'll look again.
interesting, and timely for me as a few days ago had zoom appointment with private endo, when forcefully told there was no evidence thyroid had any link to covid, and FT3 irrelevant etc.! I had infact been talking about Long Covid not covid before during a review to get another T3 prescription, having spent the previous year trying to combat persistent Long Covid breathlessness ( since May 2020), including chest X-ray, echocardiogram, sleep apnoea test, various breathing interventions and changing BP drugs. But with no improvements, so I I looked to DIY alternatives including raising my Ft3, which was despite the endo treatment had been allowed to slip to 35%. For me the two dose changes of adding 5 mcg T3 over a 7 month period ie from 15 to 25mcg daily ( alongside 100 Levo) helped with the extensive pain, like a stitch, lower front and back, like the diaphragm was being relieved with extra T3. I have since found numerous papers ( in Chest and respiratory journals) on thin/less substantial diaphragms affecting breathing ‘strength’ being frequent in hypothyroid patients…so perhaps there is a link for me to lower FT3 and continued Long Covid breathing problems. Is there a link that struggling breathing itself uses up/ reduces the FT3, so there is a vicious circle in the acute hospitalised Covid patients, or in my case more chronic Long Covid? Not according to my Endo.
The trouble is that someone with Covid-linked FT3 reduction can go two ways: one is a slow recovery, the likelihood depending on how far FT3 has fallen. Often in recovery, TSH rises to help return to normality. On the other hand, very low FT3 can result in cachexia: no amount of help can be successful; the patient does not respond as the metabolism has gone into permanent decline and death.
I've seen FT3 as low as 2.5 in some young airmen who suffered a bad parachute drop. Also gunshot wounds. They were young and fit men so could overcome FT3 levels that would fell an older person. I would say in general that if your FT3 remains above 3 that's indicative of the probability of eventual recovery.
Amazing Diogenes. Who would have ever known the high benefits of T3. I was made to believe and understand after my TT that all I needed was T4 and everything will be the same as before. Well I found out the hard way that T4 was indeed not the be all . Having to go through awful palpitations to the point of being afraid to leave my home . After adding T3 to my T4 mix made a world of a difference. Even with aches and pain and and getting less colds and viruses and works on moods too. Thank you Diogenes for always bring Great and such helpful information to our forum. Forever thankful and grateful.
My 2.76 not so great then.....although I have had covid at least once, probably twice and just possibly three times and am still here albeit with worsened neurological symptoms. I am thinking positively about a slow recovery!
Well bookish, that's really really good to hear that you're still here. Seems you're fitter than your results of 2.76 would suggest. Sorry re your worsened neurological symptoms...positive thoughts are good...slow recovery is recovery. Hugs xx
Thank you! It is odd, when I retested last December I fully expected my levels to have improved as I had definitely made some gains in health, but they had actually dropped. Presumably my fairly intense supplementation, diet and lifestyle stuff has offset some of the worst effects, but I am starting to feel it now things are cold! Still seeking help, new appointment in a couple of weeks. And odd B12 deficiency still under investigation. Hugs to you too and best wishes xx
does this apply to people who have no thyroid and rely solely on meds? I just got over covid a few weeks ago but during that time my pulse was over 100bpm constantly without heart palpitations (which I don’t understand) and I took my meds everyday.
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Unable to maintain FT3 levels with NDT
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