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. 2024 Jan 8:14:1298708.
doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2023.1298708. eCollection 2023.

A Mendelian randomization study of the effect of serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels on autoimmune thyroid disease

Yunfeng Yu  1 , Xinyu Yang  2 , Jingyi Wu  3 , Xueli Shangguan  1 , Siyang Bai  2 , Rong Yu  1
Affiliations

A Mendelian randomization study of the effect of serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels on autoimmune thyroid disease

Yunfeng Yu et al. Front Immunol. .

Abstract

Objective: The influence of vitamin D on autoimmune thyroid disease (AITD) remains a subject of ongoing debate. This study employs Mendelian randomization (MR) to investigate the causal correlations of serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25[OH]D) levels with autoimmune thyroiditis (AIT), autoimmune hyperthyroidism (AIH), and Graves disease (GD).

Methods: Data on single nucleotide polymorphisms related to serum 25(OH)D levels, AIT, AIH, and GD were sourced from UK Biobank and FinnGen. Inverse variance weighted, MR-Egger, and weighted median were employed to test the exposure-outcome causal relationship. Assessments of horizontal pleiotropy, heterogeneity, and stability were performed using the MR-Egger intercept, Cochran's Q test, and leave-one-out sensitivity analysis, respectively.

Results: The results of MR analysis showed increased serum 25(OH)D levels was associated with a reduced risk of AIT (OR 0.499, 95% CI 0.289 to 0.860, p = 0.012) but not causal associated with AIH (OR 0.935, 95% CI 0.695 to 1.256, p = 0.654) and GD (OR 0.813, 95% CI 0.635 to 1.040, p = 0.100). Intercept analysis showed no horizontal pleiotropy (p > 0.05), and Cochran's Q test showed no heterogeneity (p > 0.05). Sensitivity analysis suggested that these results were robust.

Conclusion: An increased serum 25(OH)D level is associated with AIT risk reduction but unrelated to AIH and GD. This finding suggests that vitamin D supplementation can be valuable for preventing and treating AIT.

Keywords: Graves disease; Mendelian randomization; autoimmune thyroid disease; autoimmune thyroiditis; vitamin D.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
MR design for causal analysis of serum 25(OH)D levels and AITD.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Forest plot of MR analysis on the causal relationship between serum 25(OH)D levels and AITD.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Scatter plot of MR analysis on the causal relationship between serum 25(OH)D levels and AITD. (A) AIT, (B) AIH, (C) GD. *AITD, autoimmune thyroid disease; AIT, autoimmune thyroiditis; AIH, autoimmune hyperthyroidism; GD, Graves disease.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Funnel plot of heterogeneity analysis on serum 25(OH)D levels and AITD. (A) AIT, (B) AIH, (C) GD. *AITD, autoimmune thyroid disease; AIT, autoimmune thyroiditis; AIH, autoimmune hyperthyroidism; GD, Graves disease.
Figure 5
Figure 5
Leave-one-out sensitivity analysis on serum 25(OH)D levels and AITD. (A) AIT, (B) AIH, (C) GD. *AITD, autoimmune thyroid disease; AIT, autoimmune thyroiditis; AIH, autoimmune hyperthyroidism; GD, Graves disease.
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The author(s) declare financial support was received for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article. This study was supported by The Key Support Project of the Regional Innovation and Development Joint Fund of the National Natural Science Foundation of China [U21A20411].

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