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At Healthfully, we strive to deliver objective content that is accurate and up-to-date. Our team periodically reviews articles in order to ensure content quality. The sources cited below consist of evidence from peer-reviewed journals, prominent medical organizations, academic associations, and government data.
- Office of Dietary Supplements: Vitamin D
- International Journal of Health Sciences: Vitamin D Deficiency and Its Association with Thyroid Disease
- International Journal of Health Sciences: Vitamin D Deficiency and Its Association with Thyroid Disease
- Cellular and Modular Immunology: Vitamin D and Autoimmune Thyroid Diseases
- Cellular and Modular Immunology: Vitamin D and Autoimmune Thyroid Diseases
- WomensHealth.gov: Hashimoto's Disease Fact Sheet
The information contained on this site is for informational purposes only, and should not be used as a substitute for the advice of a professional health care provider. Please check with the appropriate physician regarding health questions and concerns. Although we strive to deliver accurate and up-to-date information, no guarantee to that effect is made.
Are Vitamin D Deficiency & Hypothyroidism Related?
Perhaps the most commonly known function of vitamin D is its role in keeping your bones strong by helping your body absorb calcium. However, vitamin D has other roles, such as regulating the immune system, and it may even play a role in keeping your thyroid functioning properly. Your thyroid is a small gland that you're likely not going to hear much about until it malfunctions. It produces hormones that have a wide variety of physiological roles, including regulating your metabolism. Evidence suggests that low vitamin D levels may have a negative effect on thyroid function.
Where You Get It
Your skin produces vitamin D in response to sunlight exposure, and you get it from foods in your diet, such as:
- salmon
- tuna
- egg yolks
- cheese
- foods fortified with vitamin D
The recommended daily intake is 600 international units per day
* according to the Office of Dietary Supplements 1. Science is still unraveling the effects of vitamin D deficiency. Bone problems, such as rickets, are widely acknowledged, but research indicates that vitamin D deficiency may cause other problems.
Hypothyroid Patient Study
What Does a High Level of Thyroid Peroxidase Mean?
Learn More
Researchers conducted a study to examine the prevalence of vitamin D deficiency in patients with hypothyroidism 2. They found that vitamin D levels were significantly lower in those with hypothyroidism, compared with healthy adults. They also found that the degree of vitamin D deficiency was linked to the severity of hypothyroidism -- the more severe the hypothyroidism, the lower the vitamin D levels. The study was published in the November 2013 issue of the "International Journal of Health Sciences. 2"
Link to Hypothyroidism
Autoimmune thyroiditis -- an immune disorder -- is the most common cause of hypothyroidism, which occurs when your immune system mistakes your thyroid for foreign tissue and produces antibodies against it. Researchers found that patients with autoimmune thyroiditis had significantly low vitamin D and that it correlated with thyroid antibodies 3. They concluded that vitamin D deficiency may be involved in hypothyroidism and that the results warranted a recommendation for vitamin D supplementation. The study was published in the May 2011 issue of the journal "Cellular and Modular Immunology."
- Autoimmune thyroiditis -- an immune disorder -- is the most common cause of hypothyroidism, which occurs when your immune system mistakes your thyroid for foreign tissue and produces antibodies against it.
- They concluded that vitamin D deficiency may be involved in hypothyroidism and that the results warranted a recommendation for vitamin D supplementation.
Health and Supplementation
What Are the Causes of Low TSH?
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There appears to be a link between low vitamin D and hypothyroidism, but more study is needed to draw a solid conclusion. If you have hypothyroidism, ask your doctor to perform a vitamin D test to check your level and discuss whether he recommends supplementation. Avoid supplementing vitamin D without your doctor's guidance.
Related Articles
References
- Office of Dietary Supplements: Vitamin D
- International Journal of Health Sciences: Vitamin D Deficiency and Its Association with Thyroid Disease
- Cellular and Modular Immunology: Vitamin D and Autoimmune Thyroid Diseases
- WomensHealth.gov: Hashimoto's Disease Fact Sheet
- Muscogiuri G et al.Vitamin D and Thyroid Disease: To D or Not to D? Eur J Clin Nutr. 2015 Mar;69(3):291-6. doi:/10.1038/ejcn.2014.265
- Mazokopakis EE, Papadomanolaki MG, Tsekouras KC, Evangelopoulos AD, Kotsiris DA, Tzortzinis AA. Is Vitamin D Related to Pathogenesis and Treatment of Hashimoto's Thyroiditis? Hell J Nucl Med. 2015 Sep-Dec;18(3):222-7. PMID: 26637501
- Simsek Y, Cakir I, Yetmis M, et al. Effects of Vitamin D Treatment on Thyroid Autoimmunity. J Res Med Sci. 2016;21:85. doi:10.4103/1735-1995.192501
- Parva NR, Tadepalli S, Singh P, et al. Prevalence of Vitamin D Deficiency and Associated Risk Factors in the US Population (2011-2012). Cureus. 2018;10(6):e2741. Published 2018 Jun 5. doi:10.7759/cureus.2741
- National Institutes of Health. Vitamin D: Fact Sheet for Professionals. Nov 9, 2018.
- Kim D. The Role of Vitamin D in Thyroid Diseases. Int J Mol Sci. 2017 Sep;18(9):1949. doi: 10.3390/ijms18091949. www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5618598/
- Kivity S, Agmon-Levin N, Zisappl M, et al. Vitamin D and Autoimmune Thyroid Diseases. Cell. Mol. Immunol. 2011;8:243-47. doi: 10.1038/cmi.2010.73
Writer Bio
Barbara Froek is a dietitian and fitness trainer who holds a Bachelor of exercise and nutrition sciences as well as a Master of dietetics, food and nutrition. She has served as a contributing writer for various diet and fitness magazines including "Flex," "Muscular Development" and "Muscle & Fitness Hers."