Low Vitamin D Deficiency Associated With Thyroid Disease Among Type 2 Diabetic Mellitus Patients

Abdulbari Bener; Yasar Ozdenkaya; Abdulla O A A Al-Hamaq; Cem Cahit Barisik; Mustafa Ozturk

doi:10.14740/jocmr3507w

Low Vitamin D Deficiency Associated With Thyroid Disease Among Type 2 Diabetic Mellitus Patients

J Clin Med Res. 2018 Sep;10(9):707-714. doi: 10.14740/jocmr3507w. Epub 2018 Jul 31.

Authors

Abdulbari Bener^{1

2

3}, Yasar Ozdenkaya⁴, Abdulla O A A Al-Hamaq⁵, Cem Cahit Barisik⁶, Mustafa Ozturk³

Affiliations

¹ Department of Biostatistics and Medical Informatics, Cerrahpasa Faculty of Medicine, Istanbul University, Istanbul, Turkey.
² Department of Evidence for Population Health Unit, School of Epidemiology and Health Sciences, The university of Manchester, Manchester, UK.
³ Department. of Endocrinology, Medipol International School of Medicine, Istanbul Medipol University, Istanbul, Turkey.
⁴ Qatar Diabetic Associations and Qatar National Research Foundation, Doha, Qatar.
⁵ Department of Surgery, Medipol School of Medicine, Istanbul Medipol University, Istanbul, Turkey.
⁶ Department of Radiology and Pathology, Medipol School of Medicine, Istanbul Medipol University, Istanbul, Turkey.

Abstract

Background: The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between vitamin D deficiency and thyroid diseases among type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) patients.

Methods: This was a cohort case and control study, 546 T2DM patients and 546 control study participants were enrolled, aged between 25 and 65 years. The subjects were also investigated for fasting blood glucose levels (FBG), post prandial glucose (PPG,) glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c), thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH), T3, T4, and presence of other comorbid conditions. Thyroid fine needle aspiration biopsy was suggested to patients whose thyroid nodules were greater than 1.00 cm.

Results: There were significant differences between T2DM patients and control subjects regarding BMI (kg/m²), physical activity, cigarette smoking, sheesha smoking, family history of diabetes, hypertension and family history of thyroid nodules. The clinical biochemistry values among T2DM for vitamin D, calcium, magnesium, potassium, phosphorous, fasting blood glucose, cholesterol, HbA1c, HLDL, LDL, triglyceride, systolic blood pressure (SBP) and diastolic blood pressure (DBP) were lower than control subjects, but higher in creatinine, albumin, TSH, T3, and T4 which appeared statistically significant differences (P < 0.001). Also, the study revealed statistically significant differences between subjects vitamin D deficiency and with thyroid nodules for calcium, magnesium, phosphorous, HbA1c, high density lipoprotein (HDL), SBP and DBP, TSH, T3, and T4 among T2DM patients and control subjects (P < 0.001). Multivariable stepwise logistic regression analysis showed that TSH, HbA1c, vitamin D deficiency, SBP (mm Hg), BMI, family history of DM, serum calcium level and family history of thyroid were considered at higher risk as predictors of thyroid among T2DM patients.

Conclusions: This study suggests that obesity, HbA1c, the environment, and genetic susceptibility among T2DM, may increase the risk of thyroid disease and cancer. Although evidence has shown that thyroid cancer incidence has been rising more rapidly over time than the occurrence of cancers of other sites, due to an increase of obesity, diabetes and lack of physical activity, this study lacks of direct evidence supporting this conclusion.

Keywords: HbA1C; Prevention; T2DM; TSH; Thyroid disease; Vitamin D deficiency.