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Relationship between serum vitamin D levels and thyroid- and parathyroid-related diseases: a Mendelian randomisation study

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  30 September 2024

Lirong Zhang Open the ORCID record for Lirong Zhang [Opens in a new window] ,
Congting Hu ,
Xinmiao Lin ,
Huiting Lin ,
Wenhua Wu ,
Jiaqin Cai ,
Hong Sun  and
Xiaoxia Wei Open the ORCID record for Xiaoxia Wei [Opens in a new window]
Lirong Zhang
Affiliation:
School of Pharmacy, Fujian Medical University; Department of Pharmacy, Shengli Clinical Medical College of Fujian Medical University, Fujian Provincial Hospital, Fuzhou, China
Congting Hu
Affiliation:
School of Pharmacy, Fujian Medical University; Department of Pharmacy, Shengli Clinical Medical College of Fujian Medical University, Fujian Provincial Hospital, Fuzhou, China
Xinmiao Lin
Affiliation:
School of Pharmacy, Fujian Medical University; Department of Pharmacy, Shengli Clinical Medical College of Fujian Medical University, Fujian Provincial Hospital, Fuzhou, China
Huiting Lin
Affiliation:
School of Pharmacy, Fujian Medical University; Department of Pharmacy, Shengli Clinical Medical College of Fujian Medical University, Fujian Provincial Hospital, Fuzhou, China
Wenhua Wu
Affiliation:
School of Pharmacy, Fujian Medical University; Department of Pharmacy, Shengli Clinical Medical College of Fujian Medical University, Fujian Provincial Hospital, Fuzhou, China
Jiaqin Cai
Affiliation:
Department of Pharmacy, Fujian Provincial Hospital, Shengli Clinical Medical College of Fujian Medical University, Fuzhou University Affiliated Provincial Hospital, Fuzhou, China
Hong Sun*
Affiliation:
Department of Pharmacy, Fujian Provincial Hospital, Shengli Clinical Medical College of Fujian Medical University, Fuzhou University Affiliated Provincial Hospital, Fuzhou, China
Xiaoxia Wei*
Affiliation:
Department of Pharmacy, Fujian Provincial Hospital, Shengli Clinical Medical College of Fujian Medical University, Fuzhou University Affiliated Provincial Hospital, Fuzhou, China
*
*Corresponding authors: Xiaoxia Wei, email xxwei0321@outlook.com; Hong Sun, email sunhong7777@fjmu.edu.cn
*Corresponding authors: Xiaoxia Wei, email xxwei0321@outlook.com; Hong Sun, email sunhong7777@fjmu.edu.cn
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Abstract

Previous studies have indicated an association between vitamin D and thyroid- and parathyroid-related diseases. However, it remains unclear whether it is a cause of the disease, a side effect of treatment or a consequence of the disease. The Mendelian randomisation (MR) study strengthens the causal inference by controlling for non-heritable environmental confounders and reverse causation. In this study, a two-sample bidirectional MR analysis was conducted to investigate the causal relationship between serum vitamin D levels and thyroid- and parathyroid-related diseases. Inverse variance weighted, weighted median and MR-Egger methods were performed, the Cochran Q test was used to evaluate the heterogeneity and the MR-PRESSO and MR-Egger intercepts were utilised to assess the possibility of pleiotropy. The Bonferroni-corrected significance threshold was 0·0038. At the Bonferroni-corrected significance level, we found that vitamin D levels suggestively decreased the risk of benign parathyroid adenoma (OR = 0·244; 95 % CI 0·074, 0·802; P = 0·0202) in the MR analyses. In the reverse MR study, a genetically predicted risk of thyroid cancer suggestively increased the risk of elevated vitamin D (OR = 1·007; 95 % CI 1·010, 1·013; P = 0·0284), chronic thyroiditis significantly increased the risk of elevated vitamin D (OR = 1·007; 95 % CI 1·002, 1·011; P = 0·0030) and thyroid nodules was significantly decreased the vitamin D levels (OR = 0·991; 95 % CI 0·985, 0·997; P = 0·0034). The findings might be less susceptible to horizontal pleiotropy and heterogeneity (P > 0·05). This study from a gene perspective indicated that chronic thyroiditis and thyroid nodules may impact vitamin D levels, but the underlying mechanisms require further investigation.

Keywords

Thyroid glandParathyroid glandsThyroid cancerVitamin DMendelian randomisation study
Type
Research Article
Information
British Journal of Nutrition , Volume 132 , Issue 6 , 28 September 2024 , pp. 701 - 711
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Copyright
© The Author(s), 2024. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of The Nutrition Society

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