The relationship between Hashimoto's thyroiditis and vitamin D and the inflammatory marker platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio

Abstract

Aim: Hashimoto's thyroiditis (HT) is a chronic autoimmune-mediated disease that leads to overt hypothyroidism. Vitamin D is essential for immunity. This study examines possible impacts of vitamin D on the progression of HT and evaluates the use of platelet-lymphocyte ratio (PLR) as an indicator of its relationship with the inflammatory process. Material and Method: This is a retrospective case-control study, consisting of 60 individuals with HT and 40 healthy controls. Thyroid function tests, thyroid antibodies, vitamin D levels, erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), parameters of complete blood count and C-reactive protein (CRP) levels were scanned retrospectively using participants' medical files between September 2018 and March 2019. Platelet count was divided by lymphocyte count to determine PLR. Results: HT patients had both considerably lower median vitamin D levels and higher percentages of vitamin D deficiency than the controls [12.08 (8.79–17.00) vs. 20.09 (20.00–34.00) and 80% vs. 22.5%, respectively, p