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Vitamin D and thyroid disease: to D or not to D?

European Journal of Clinical Nutrition volume 69, pages 291–296 (2015)Cite this article

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Abstract

The main role of vitamin D is to maintain calcium and phosphorus homeostasis, thus preserving bone health. Recent evidence has demonstrated that vitamin D may also have a role in a variety of nonskeletal disorders such as endocrine diseases and in particular type 1 diabetes, type 2 diabetes, adrenal diseases and polycystic ovary syndrome. Low levels of vitamin D have also been associated with thyroid disease, such as Hashimoto’s thyroiditis. Similarly, patients with new-onset Graves’ disease were found to have decreased 25-hydroxyvitamin D concentrations. Impaired vitamin D signaling has been reported to encourage thyroid tumorigenesis. This review will focus on the role of vitamin D in thyroid diseases, both autoimmune diseases and thyroid cancer, and will summarize the results of vitamin D supplementation studies performed in patients with thyroid disorders. Although observational studies support a beneficial role of vitamin D in the management of thyroid disease, randomized controlled trials are required to provide insight into the efficacy and safety of vitamin D as a therapeutic tool for this dysfunction.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Clinical Medicine and Surgery, Section of Endocrinology, University ‘Federico II’, Naples, Italy

    G Muscogiuri & A Colao

  2. Division of Endocrinology, Department of Clinical and Molecular Sciences, Umberto I Hospital, School of Medicine, Polytechnic University of Marche, Ancona, Italy

    G Tirabassi & G Balercia

  3. The Zabludowicz Center for Autoimmune Diseases, Sheba Medical Center, Tel-Hashomer, Israel

    G Bizzaro & Y Shoenfeld

  4. Department of General Surgery and Transplantation Unit ‘San Giovanni di Dio e Ruggi D’Aragona’ University Hospital, Scuola Medica Salernitana, Salerno, Italy

    F Orio

  5. Department of Endocrinology and Diabetes, Hellenic Red Cross Hospital, Athens, Greece

    S A Paschou & A Vryonidou

  6. Incumbent of the Laura Schwarz-Kip Chair for Research of Autoimmune Diseases, Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel

    Y Shoenfeld

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  1. G Muscogiuri
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  2. G Tirabassi
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Muscogiuri, G., Tirabassi, G., Bizzaro, G. et al. Vitamin D and thyroid disease: to D or not to D?. Eur J Clin Nutr 69, 291–296 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1038/ejcn.2014.265

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