Objectives: Many studies suggested a link between hypovitaminosis D and benign and malignant thyroid lesions. However, some authors suggested that hypovitaminosis D may be a result and not a risk factor for thyroid lesions. So, the present study aimed to assess vitamin D levels in patients presented with recent onset of thyroid lesions with normal daily life activities.
Methods: The study included 100 patients with benign thyroid lesions and 50 age and sex matched healthy controls. All participants were subjected to careful history taking and thorough clinical examination. The demographic characteristics including education, residence and occupation were also reported. The performed laboratory investigations included CBC, thyroid function tests and vitamin D assessment for all subjects. the studied groups were investigated using the Activities of Daily Living Questionnaire (ADL). Rates of sun exposure were also assessed using the Sun Exposure Questionnaire.
Results: Patients had significantly lower sun exposure score when compared with controls (9.1 ± 2.5 versus 10.3 ± 3.3, p=0.025). However, patients and controls had comparable ADL scores (92.4 ± 4.7 versus 93.2 ± 3.9, p=0.29). Vitamin D levels in patients and controls were 19.3 ± 9.5 ng/ml and 33.3 ± 12.4 respectively (p < 0.001). Patients group comprised significantly higher frequency of cases with vitamin D deficiency (58.0 % versus 6.0 %, p < 0.001).
Conclusions: Vitamin D deficiency may be a risk factor for development of thyroid lesions even in patients with normal level of daily life activities.