Selenium and Hypothyroidism

In the CATALYST study, researchers found that selenium supplements and placebo supplements improved the quality of life of patients with hypothyroidism to an equal extent. Accordingly, the researchers have now emphasized a need for more research into the effect of selenium supplementation on immune system function, on oxidative stress, and on low-grade inflammation in patients with thyroid diseases [Larsen 2024].

Thyroid system depicted
Depiction of the thyroid system. Attribution: Mikael Häggström, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons. The CATALYST study (Chronic Auto-immune Thyroiditis Quality of Life Selenium Trial) sought to establish whether selenium supplementation improves quality-of-life in patients with autoimmune thyroiditis .

The CATALYST study was a multi-center randomized, double-blinded, placebo-controlled clinical trial conducted in Denmark. The study participants were patients aged 18 or more years with serum thyroid peroxidase antibody (TPOAb) levels equal to or greater than 100 IU/mL. 82% of the study participants were women [Larsen 2024]. read more