Vitamin D receptor gene polymorphisms/haplotypes and serum 25(OH)D 3 levels in Hashimoto's thyroiditis

Vitamin D deficiency and/or reduced function, as per certain polymorphisms of the vitamin D receptor (VDR) gene, have been related to several autoimmune disorders. The present study was aimed to investigate the association of Hashimoto's thyroiditis with vitamin D status and functional polymorphisms (SNPs) of the VDR gene. In this case-control study, 200 euthyroid subjects were enrolled: 100 newly diagnosed HT patients (87 F, 13 M; mean age ± SD 42 ± 15 year) and 100 healthy individuals, matched for age, sex, BMI, and month of blood sampling. Serum 25(OH)D was measured by HPLC. The VDR SNPs BsmI, ApaI, and TaqI, in strong linkage disequilibrium with each other, were detected by restriction fragment length polymorphism-PCR. The prevalence of vitamin D deficiency in HT patients was significantly higher than that in the control group (70 vs 18.2 %; p