Children with Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis Have Increased Intestinal Permeability: Results of a Pilot Study

Increased intestinal permeability (IIP) precedes several autoimmune disorders. Although Hashimoto’s thyroiditis (HT) is the most common autoimmune disorder, the role of IIP in its pathogenesis had received little attention. Zonulin plays a critical role in IIP by modulating intracellular tight junctions. Rise of serum zonulin levels were shown to indicate IIP in human subjects. In this case-control study, we examined the hypothesis that patients with HT have IIP. We studied 30 children and adolescents with HT, and age, gender and body mass index (BMI) matched 30 patients with congenital hypothyroidism (CH). Serum zonulin levels, free thyroxine (fT4), thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH), anti-thyroglobulin antibody and anti-thyroid peroxidase antibody were measured. Zonulin levels were significantly higher in patients with HT than patients with CH (59.1±22.9ng/mL vs. 43.3±32.9ng/mL , p=0.035). In patients with HT, zonulin levels were positively correlated with weight (r= 0.406, p=0.03), BMI (r= 0.486, p=0.006) and levothyroxine dose (r= 0.463, p=0.02). In patients with CH, zonulin levels were positively correlated with age (r= 0.475, p=0.008), weight (r= 0.707, p