The Association Between Severity of Vitamin D Deficiency and Hashimoto's Thyroiditis.

[helvella]

We keep shouting about vitamin D to every newly diagnosed person. This paper rather suggests why this might be a good thing - and not something that is independent of the thyroid problems.

Note that this paper hails from Turkey - where you might have thought they would have less of a vitamin D issue? (And test results/scales/ranges will be different.)

It rather suggests that once diagnosed, people continue to go downhill in terms of vitamin D. Of course, there could be many factors, but it does rather suggest that something needs to be done to prevent that happening.

Endocr Pract. 2013 Jan 21:1-14. [Epub ahead of print]

The Association Between Severity of Vitamin D Deficiency and Hashimoto's Thyroiditis.

Bozkurt NC, Karbek B, Ucan B, Sahin M, Cakal E, Ozbek M, Delibasi T.

Source

Department of Endocrinology and Metabolism, Diskapi Yildirim Beyazit Training and Research Hospital.

Abstract

Objective: The relation between vitamin-D and autoimmune disorders has long been investigated regarding to important roles of this hormone in immune regulation. We evaluated 25-hydroxy-vitamin-D (25OHD) status of subjects with Hashimoto's thyroiditis (HT) and healthy controls.Methods: Group-1 consisted of 180 euthyroid patients (123 females/57 males) with HT who were on stable dose of L-thyroxine (LT). Sex, age and BMI matched 180 euthyroid subjects with newly diagnosed HT were considered as Group-2 and healthy volunteers (n=180) were enrolled as controls (Group-3). All subjects (n=540) underwent thyroid ultrasound and were evaluated for serum 25OHD, anti-thyroid peroxidase(anti-TPO) and anti-thyroglobulin (anti-TG) levels.Results: Group-1 had the lowest 25OHD levels (11.4±5.2 ng/mL) compared to newly diagnosed HT subjects (Group-2) (13.1±5.9 ng/mL, p=0.002) and to control subjects (15.4±6.8 ng/mL, p<0.001). Serum 25OHD levels directly correlated to thyroid volume (r=0.145, p<0.001) and inversely correlated to anti-TPO (r=-0.361,p<0.001) and anti-TG levels (r=-0.335,p<0.001). The 48.3% of group-1, 35% of group-2, and 20.5% of controls had severe vitamin-D deficiency (25OHD <10ng/ml). Female chronic HT patients had the lowest serum 25OHD levels (10.3±4.58ng/mL), while male control subjects had the highest (19.3±5.9ng/mL) (p<0.001).Conclusions: We showed that serum 25OHD levels of patients with HT were significantly lower than controls and severity of vitamin-D deficiency correlated with duration of HT, thyroid volume and antibody levels. These findings may suggest a potential role of 25OHD in development of Hashimoto's thyroiditis and/or its progression to hypothyroidism.

PMID:

23337162

[PubMed - as supplied by publisher]

ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/233...

Rod

Picture is of the hospital where the paper comes from.

[Moggie]

Rod - I was wondering if you could answer a question that's been puzzling me for ages.

When people with low VitD get their levels up by supplimenting why do they then find that their levels have gone straight back down again after a few months?

Moggie x

[helvella Administrator Thyroid UK in reply to Moggie]

Wish I knew. But it does indeed seem to be the case. Anything I wrote would be speculation - so I shall keep quiet unless/until I find an answer!

[Hidden in reply to helvella]

How do you mean disappear? Do you mean you carry on taking it, but the level of it drops in spite of this, or it just drops down once you stop supplementing? Thanks for the medical paper by the way, keep 'em coming.

Penny

[helvella Administrator Thyroid UK in reply to Hidden]

My personal experience (and mine is NOT autoimmune) is that taking a good dose (say, 5000 IU a day for me), got my level up nicely. But when I went onto a lower dose of around 1200 to 2400, which I had thought might be enough for maintenance, my D levels dropped quite quickly.

So I feel that I probably need only a little under the 5000 or so in order to maintain my level of D.

[Hidden in reply to helvella]

That sounds about right, Rod. I take 6000iu a day in the winter and sunbathe in the summer. Some sources say 8000iu a day is the right dose, but we must all be different: biochemical individuality and all that, something docs seem unaware of. Apparently, so I read on the Dr Mercola site, we need to make sure we get enough vitamin K2 to metabolise the D properly. All so complicated. Just eat a varied diet I suppose, including a cheese (for the K2).

[Moggie]

If you ever do find something that is a likely answer it would be really interesting to know EXACTLY where the VitD goes, I mean it cant just disappear into think air can it?

I will be asking for a re-test soon as my levels went from 12.5 to 154 after a high powered, two week course and if they have dropped I will definately ask my GP where it has gone - if I get a technical/scientific enough answer that I think you will accept I will let you know.lol.

Thanks for the reply.

Moggie x

[Hidden]

How do you mean disappear? Do you mean you carry on taking it, but the level of it drops in spite of this, or it just drops down once you stop supplementing?

Penny

[Hidden]

Vitamin D is stored in your body fat. It "disappears" because your body is using it. If you don't eat a ton of oily fish or get a lot of sun (which we don't in this country, none between Nov and March) your stored supplies will be used and not replaced. The trick is to find the level at which you maintain a good blood ratio of 125nmol or 50ng/ml. Taking 5000iu per day is enough to keep your immune system boosted and your inflammatory response down (pain and arthritic/rheumatic and other inflammation). You can take more. There are no side effects of much much larger doses than this. 10,000u is what you would get daily from sunbathing for 20 minutes (without sunscreen). (Older people will not get enough Vit D3 from the sun as the older you get the less you can manufacture D3 through the skin so supplements are very necessary. Children are D3 deficient because they don't eat oily fish and they are plastered in sunscreen. Scary fact, 7 children a week die in this country from cardiac arrest due to insufficient Vit D3. It's true I can supply the link if you want.

[Hidden in reply to Hidden]

Yes, Phoebs, I would like the link. I am endlessly trying to get my grown-up children to supplement with vit D. My entire family just roll their eyes when I bang on about vitamin D so it would be useful to have some hard info to give them. I remember that case of a baby dying because it was grossly vitamin D deficient. Its (can't remember the gender) mother was dark skinned and particularly vitamin D deficient. She was breast-feeding the baby and thinking she was doing the best for her child. Poor thing. I take about 6000iu a day and had a level of around 120 the last time it was measured.

[Hidden]

Hi chillyfeet,

Here are a couple of links, the first is Radio 4's "Inside Health" programme, Dr Martineau talking toward the end of the programme

bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01mdfc0

Then there is this American site, all Bone Fide, there are lots of videos on here that are very easy to listen to and make the points extremely well.

grassrootshealth.net/