Two systematic review s have evaluated controlled trials among patients with autoimmune thyroiditis and report that selenium supplementation decreases circulating thyroid autoantibodies .
The immunomodulatory effects of selenium might involve reducing proinflammatory cytokine release .
In Graves ’ disease , some , but not all , trials indicate that adjuvant selenium supplementation enhances the restoration of biochemical euthyroidism , and might benefit patients with mild Graves ’ orbitopathy .
The available evidence from trials does not support routine selenium supplementation in the st and ard treatment of patients with autoimmune thyroiditis or Graves ’ disease .
However , correction of moderate to severe selenium deficiency may offer benefits in preventing , as well as treating , these disorders .
Purpose of review This review provides an appraisal of recent evidence for or against selenium supplementation in patients with autoimmune thyroid diseases , and discusses possible effect mechanisms .
Recent findings Epidemiological data suggest an increased prevalence of autoimmune thyroid diseases under conditions of low dietary selenium intake .
However , clinical ly relevant effects of selenium supplementation , including improvement in quality of life , are more elusive .
Disease-Specific as Well as Generic Quality of Life Is Widely Impacted in Autoimmune Hypothyroidism and Improves during the First Six Months of Levothyroxine Therapy
Background Hypothyroidism is often diagnosed , and subsequently treated , due to health-related quality of life ( HRQL ) issues . However , HRQL following treatment has never previously been assessed in longitudinal descriptive studies using vali date d instruments . Objective To investigate disease-specific ( ThyPRO ) and generic ( SF-36 ) HRQL , following levothyroxine therapy in patients with hypothyroidism due to autoimmune thyroiditis . Methods This prospect i ve cohort study was set at endocrine outpatient clinics at two Danish university hospitals . Seventy-eight consecutive patients were enrolled and completed HRQL question naires before , six weeks , and six months after initiation of levothyroxine therapy . Normative ThyPRO ( n = 739 ) and SF-36 ( n = 6,638 ) data were available for comparison and changes in HRQL following treatment were estimated and quantified . Results Prior to treatment , all ThyPRO scales were significantly impacted ( p<0.0001 ) , compared to the general population sample . The same was observed for seven of eight SF-36 scales , the exception being Bodily Pain . Tiredness ( ThyPRO ) and Vitality ( SF-36 ) were the most markedly impacted scales . After six weeks of treatment , nine of thirteen ThyPRO scales had significantly improved . ThyPRO improvements were consistent at six months , where five of eight SF-36 scales had also significantly improved , but deficits persisted for a subset of both ThyPRO and SF-36 scales . Conclusions In this population of hypothyroid patients , HRQL was widely affected before treatment , with tiredness as the cardinal impairment according to both ThyPRO and SF-36 . Many aspects of HRQL improved during the first six months of LT4 therapy , but full recovery was not obtained . Our results may help clinicians inform patients about expected clinical treatment effects
Two systematic review s have evaluated controlled trials among patients with autoimmune thyroiditis and report that selenium supplementation decreases circulating thyroid autoantibodies .
The immunomodulatory effects of selenium might involve reducing proinflammatory cytokine release .
In Graves ’ disease , some , but not all , trials indicate that adjuvant selenium supplementation enhances the restoration of biochemical euthyroidism , and might benefit patients with mild Graves ’ orbitopathy .
The available evidence from trials does not support routine selenium supplementation in the st and ard treatment of patients with autoimmune thyroiditis or Graves ’ disease .
However , correction of moderate to severe selenium deficiency may offer benefits in preventing , as well as treating , these disorders .
Purpose of review This review provides an appraisal of recent evidence for or against selenium supplementation in patients with autoimmune thyroid diseases , and discusses possible effect mechanisms .
Recent findings Epidemiological data suggest an increased prevalence of autoimmune thyroid diseases under conditions of low dietary selenium intake .
However , clinical ly relevant effects of selenium supplementation , including improvement in quality of life , are more elusive .