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Exploring the Correlation Between Varied Serum Iodine Nutritional Levels and Anti-Thyroglobulin Antibodies

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Abstract

Iodine deficiency results in elevated thyroglobulin (Tg) concentrations, with high iodine Tg being more immunogenic than low iodine Tg. The study investigated the correlation between serum iodine concentration and thyroglobulin autoantibody (TgAb) levels across diverse iodine nutritional statuses as determined by urine iodine concentration (UIC). Demographic information was collected from 1,482 participants through a questionnaire. Blood and spot urine were collected to measure thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH), TgAb, thyroid anti-peroxidase antibody (TPOAb), serum iodine (SIC), serum non-protein-bound iodine (snPBI), urine iodine (UIC), creatinine (UCr). The median UIC and SIC were 146.5 μg/L and 74.9 μg/L, respectively. A linear relationship was observed between SIC, snPBI, and serum-protein-bound iodine (sPBI) (P < 0.001). The 90% reference intervals for SIC, snPBI, and sPBI were 50.7–120.7 μg/L, 21.9–52.9 μg/L, and 19.7–77.9 μg/L, respectively. The prevalence of elevated TgAb levels was significantly higher in women than in men (P < 0.001). Both low and high levels of snPBI and sPBI were associated with an increased risk of elevated TgAb levels. In women, the risk of positive TgAb in the group below the reference value of snPBI (OR = 2.079, 95%CI: 1.166, 3.705) and sPBI (OR = 2.578, 95%CI: 1.419, 4.684) was higher. In men, the risk of positive TgAb in the group below the reference value of SIC was higher (OR = 3.395, 95%CI: 1.286, 8.962). Iodine might exert an influence on TgAb levels through its binding to proteins, primarily Tg, thereby altering the iodine content of Tg. The interplay of gender factors further enhanced the risk of TgAb emergence.

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Data Availability

No datasets were generated or analysed during the current study.

Abbreviations

Tg:

Thyroglobulin

TgAb:

Thyroglobulin antibody

TSH:

Thyroid-stimulating hormone

TPOAb:

Thyroid anti-peroxidase antibody

SIC:

Serum iodine concentration

SnPBI:

Serum non-protein-bound iodine

UIC:

Urine iodine concentration

UCr:

Urine creatinine

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Acknowledgements

We would like to express our gratitude to the School of Public Health, Tian** Medical University, Tian** Key Laboratory of Environment, Nutrition, and Public Health, and the Center for International Collaborative Research on Environment, Nutrition, and Public Health for creating a conducive environment for sample testing and facilitating the writing of this paper. Their support has been invaluable in the successful execution of our research.

Funding

This work was supported by grants from the National Science Foundation of China (grant numbers 82073549 and 81703218).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Nutrition and Food Hygiene, School of Public Health, Tian** Medical University, 22 Qixiangtai Road, He** District, Tian**, China

    Qiuyi Song, Yu Wang, Yanting Chen, Tingkai Cui, Ziyun Pan, **aohui Guo, Wen Chen, Wanqi Zhang & Long Tan

  2. Department of Nutrition and Food Safety, School of Public Health, Fujian Medical University, Fuzhou, Fujian, China

    Tingting Xu

  3. Tian** Medical University General Hospital, Tian**, China

    Hongyan Wei & Fang Fang

  4. No. 6 Department of Internal MedicineYou County Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Zhuzhou City, Hunan Province, China

    Feng Tan

  5. Department of Hygienic Chemistry, School of Public Health, Tian** Medical University, Tian**, China

    Jun Shen

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  1. Qiuyi Song
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  3. Yu Wang
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Contributions

All authors contributed to the study conception and design. Material preparation, data collection, and analysis were performed by Qiuyi Song, Tingting Xu, Yu Wang, and Hongyan Wei. Feng Tan assists with sample collection and clinical diagnosis. The first draft of the manuscript was written by Qiuyi Song and Tingting Xu, and all authors commented on the previous manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

Song Qiuyi and Tingting Xu make an equal contribution to the article.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Long Tan.

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Ethics Approval

This study was conducted according to the guidelines laid down in the Declaration of Helsinki and all procedures involving research study participants were approved by the Medical Ethics Committee of Tian** Medical University (serial number: IRB[2013]115). Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.

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Song, Q., Xu, T., Wang, Y. et al. Exploring the Correlation Between Varied Serum Iodine Nutritional Levels and Anti-Thyroglobulin Antibodies. Biol Trace Elem Res (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12011-024-04275-5

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