Differences in food consumption between patients with Hashimoto’s thyroiditis and healthy individuals

TLDR

Food is an important environmental factor that contributes to the development of Hashimoto’s thyroiditis. The study aimed to identify food groups whose consumption frequency differs between 491 Hashimoto’s thyroiditis patients and 433 controls using a food frequency questionnaire. Researchers compared consumption patterns and examined associations between food groups and clinical traits and symptoms in the patient cohort. HT patients consumed more animal fat and processed meat, while controls ate more red meat, non‑alcoholic beverages, whole grains, and plant oil; plant oil intake correlated with higher triiodothyronine, olive oil with lower systolic blood pressure in levothyroxine‑treated patients, and overall diet patterns did not change after diagnosis, underscoring dietary considerations for HT management.

Abstract

Abstract Food is considered as important environmental factor that plays a role in development of Hashimoto's thyroiditis (HT). The goal of our study was to identify food groups, assessed by food frequency questionnaire, that differ in consumption frequency between 491 patients with HT and 433 controls. We also analysed association of food groups with the wealth of HT-related clinical traits and symptoms. We found significantly increased consumption of animal fat (OR 1.55, p < 0.0001) and processed meat (OR 1.16, p = 0.0012) in HT cases, whereas controls consumed significantly more frequently red meat (OR 0.80, p < 0.0001), non-alcoholic beverages (OR 0.82, p < 0.0001), whole grains (OR 0.82, p < 0.0001) and plant oil (OR 0.87, p < 0.0001). We also observed association of plant oil consumption with increased triiodothyronine levels in HT patients (β = 0.07, p < 0.0001), and, association of olive oil consumption with decreased systolic blood pressure (β = − 0.16, p = 0.001) in HT patients on levothyroxine (LT4) therapy. Analysis of food consumption between HT patients with and without LT4 therapy suggest that patients do not tend to modify their diet upon HT diagnosis in our population. Our study may be of relevance to nutritionists, nutritional therapists and clinicians involved in developing dietary recommendations for HT patients.