ASSOCIATION BETWEEN THYROID FUNCTION TESTS, LIVER ENZYMES AND VITAMIN D IN HEALTHY CHILDREN

Background: Hypovitaminosis D is a common health problem in the worldwide. Vitamin D has a significant role in the management of calcium-phosphorus metabolism and in the immune system as well. We aimed to investigate the association between vitamin D, thyroid and liver enzymes in healthy children.

Methods: A total of 55 children between ages 3 and 16 years were evaluated retrospectively. Serum 25(OH)D3 levels ≤20 ng/mL, and ≥20 ng/ mL were accepted as vitamin D deficiency and sufficiency, respectively. Patients with 25(OH)D3 deficiency and sufficiency were compared according to their serum thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH), FreeT3, FreeT4, glucose, alanine transaminase (ALT), aspartate transaminase (AST), vitamin B12 and folic acid and Pearson correlation analyses and multivariate regression analyses were performed to assess correlation between vitamin D and other parameters.

Results: While FT4 levels were found lower in vitamin D deficiency group (1.18±0.22 versus 1.38±0.19, p= 0.001), TSH (3.77±1.40 versus 2.53±1.11 p= 0.001), AST (32.17±7.19 versus 17.12±8.72, p= 0.000) and ALT (18.05±5.45 versus 10.28±4.39, p=0.000) were significantly higher in this group. Vitamin D was positively correlated with FreeT3, FreeT4 and negatively correlated with age, TSH, AST and ALT. On multivariate regression analysis, age, FreeT4, TSH, AST were independently associated with low vitamin D concentrations.

Conclusion: Children with vitamin D deficiency are more susceptible to hypothyroidism and any conditions that affect the liver enzymes can lead to hypovitaminosis D. So children with vitamin D deficiency should be treated properly.