5. A case–control study on the relationship between vitD and AITD
In view of the conflicting results described above, we also performed a study to investigate the possible relationship between vitD and thyroid autoimmunity by assessing the incidence of vitD deficiency in a group of AITD patients compared to healthy subjects.
The study was carried out among 226 individuals, 100 affected by AITDs (52 HT, 48 GD) and 126 healthy subjects, as controls (Table 3). HT patients were diagnosed according to typical clinical symptoms and signs of hypothyroidism and TPOAb positivity. Moreover, they were classified into hypothyroid (TSH > 4 mIU/L) and euthyroid (TSH > 0.3 mIU/L and < 4 mIU/L) at the time of sampling. GD patients were diagnosed according to typical clinical symptoms and signs of hyperthyroidism and TRAb positivity. They were also classified into euthyroid and hyperthyroid (TSH < 0.3 mIU/L) at the time of sampling. Informed written consent was acquired from all subjects. Blood samples were obtained throughout the year