Background. Vitamin D is a hormone that is mainly produced in the skin upon ultraviolet B radiation exposure and has important influence on various organs. In recent years, data have been collected that vitamin D deficiency plays an important role in the development of various nonskeletal diseases, including autoimmune diseases. Chronic autoimmune thyroiditis (Hashimoto’s thyroiditis) is one of the most common organ-specific autoimmune endocrine diseases. It is characterized by increased level of antithyroid peroxidase and/or antithyroglobulin antibodies in blood, which often leads to thyroid dysfunction and structural changes of the gland. There is an opinion that vitamin D deficiency may be considered as an important risk factor for development of chronic autoimmune thyroiditis, but data of various small studies are controversial. Despite the fact that Georgia is a sunny country, vitamin D deficiency is a widespread problem here. Thyroid diseases, including the chronic autoimmune thyroiditis, are also very common in Georgia. The aim of our research was to compare the level of vitamin D between the patients with chronic autoimmune thyroiditis and the healthy subjects. Methods. This retrospective study enrolled subjects, who were 18–70 years old and visited the clinics “Cortex” and “National Institute of Endocrinology” in 2018 or in 2019 from mid-spring to mid-summer. Data of thyroid-stimulating hormone, free thyroxine, antithyroid peroxidase antibodies, antithyroglobulin antibodies, thyroid ultrasonography, and 25(OH) vitamin D were retrospectively analysed based on medical history. In total, data of 1295 patients were collected. The statistical processing of data was performed through the SPSS 20 program. Results. The negative association between thyroid-stimulating hormone, antithyroid peroxidase antibodies, antithyroglobulin antibodies, heterogeneous parenchyma of thyroid gland, and vitamin D was found in women. Statistically significant association was not detected in men. Conclusions. Serum vitamin D is lower in women with autoimmune thyroiditis and primary hypothyroidism. Further studies are needed to evaluate the influence of vitamin D supplementation on thyroid autoantibody positivity or primary hypothyroidism.

中文翻译：

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“维生素 D 缺乏症在患有自身免疫性甲状腺炎的女性中更为常见：一项回顾性研究”

背景. 维生素D是一种激素，主要在B紫外线照射下在皮肤中产生，对各种器官有重要影响。近年来，收集到的数据表明，维生素 D 缺乏在包括自身免疫性疾病在内的各种非骨骼疾病的发展中起着重要作用。慢性自身免疫性甲状腺炎（桥本氏甲状腺炎）是最常见的器官特异性自身免疫性内分泌疾病之一。其特点是血液中抗甲状腺过氧化物酶和/或抗甲状腺球蛋白抗体水平升高，常导致甲状腺功能障碍和腺体结构改变。有观点认为维生素D缺乏可能被认为是慢性自身免疫性甲状腺炎发展的重要危险因素，但各种小型研究的数据存在争议。尽管格鲁吉亚是一个阳光明媚的国家，但维生素 D 缺乏症是一个普遍存在的问题。甲状腺疾病，包括慢性自身免疫性甲状腺炎，在格鲁吉亚也很常见。我们研究的目的是比较慢性自身免疫性甲状腺炎患者和健康受试者之间的维生素 D 水平。方法。这项回顾性研究招募了 18-70 岁的受试者，他们于 2018 年或 2019 年春季至夏季中期访问了“皮质”和“国家内分泌研究所”诊所。根据病史回顾性分析促甲状腺激素、游离甲状腺素、抗甲状腺过氧化物酶抗体、抗甲状腺球蛋白抗体、甲状腺超声、25(OH)维生素D数据。总共收集了 1295 名患者的数据。通过SPSS 20程序对数据进行统计处理。结果. 在女性中发现促甲状腺激素、抗甲状腺过氧化物酶抗体、抗甲状腺球蛋白抗体、甲状腺异质实质和维生素 D 之间存在负相关。在男性中未检测到具有统计学意义的关联。结论。患有自身免疫性甲状腺炎和原发性甲状腺功能减退症的女性血清维生素 D 较低。需要进一步的研究来评估补充维生素 D 对甲状腺自身抗体阳性或原发性甲状腺功能减退的影响。