Evidence map›Paper›PMID 27683225›Full record

SynthesisEndocrine2017

Insufficient documentation for clinical efficacy of selenium supplementation in chronic autoimmune thyroiditis, based on a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Kristian Hillert Winther, Johanna Eva Märta Wichman, Steen Joop Bonnema, Laszlo Hegedüs

Open access · hybridAbstract readMeta-AnalysisSystematic Review
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Synthesis in Endocrine, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 31 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
31citing papers in PubMed, 2 pooled it
4.7field-weighted citation impact, top 5% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

31 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 76 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Pooled it
  3. Trial
  4. Trial
  5. Trial
  6. Review
  7. The role of nutrition on thyroid health and disease: myths and facts.Journal of endocrinological investigation · 2026
    Review
  8. Article
  9. Article
  10. Review
  11. Article
  12. Selenium nutritional status and thyroid dysfunction.Archives of endocrinology and metabolism · 2025
    Review
  13. Review
  14. Article
  15. Article
  16. Review
  17. Review
  18. Article
  19. Review
  20. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

4 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.

Kristian Hillert WintherDepartment of Endocrinology and Metabolism, Odense University Hospital, Kløvervænget 10, 6th floor, Odense C, 5000, Denmark. kristian.winther@rsyd.dk.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-5210-4029
Johanna Eva Märta WichmanDepartment of Endocrinology and Metabolism, Odense University Hospital, Kløvervænget 10, 6th floor, Odense C, 5000, Denmark.
Steen Joop BonnemaDepartment of Endocrinology and Metabolism, Odense University Hospital, Kløvervænget 10, 6th floor, Odense C, 5000, Denmark.
Laszlo HegedüsDepartment of Endocrinology and Metabolism, Odense University Hospital, Kløvervænget 10, 6th floor, Odense C, 5000, Denmark.
University of Southern Denmark · DK

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

By a systematic review and meta-analysis to investigate clinically relevant effects of selenium supplementation in patients with chronic autoimmune thyroiditis. Controlled trials in adults (≥18 years) with autoimmune thyroiditis, comparing selenium with or without levothyroxine substitution, versus placebo and/or levothyroxine substitution, were eligible for inclusion. Identified outcomes were serum thyrotropin (thyroid stimulating hormone) levels in LT4-untreated patients, thyroid ultrasound and health-related quality of life. Eleven publications, covering nine controlled trials, were included in the systematic review. Random effects model meta-analyses were performed in weighted mean difference for thyroid stimulating hormone, ultrasound and health-related quality of life. Quality of evidence was assessed per outcome, using GRADE. Meta-analyses showed no change in thyroid stimulating hormone, or improvements in health-related quality of life or thyroid echogenicity (ultrasound), between levothyroxine substitution-untreated patients assigned to selenium supplementation or placebo. Three trials found some improvement in wellbeing in patients receiving levothyroxine substitution, but could not be synthesized in a meta-analysis. The quality of evidence ranged from very low to low for thyroid stimulating hormone as well as ultrasound outcomes, and low to moderate for health-related quality of life, and was generally downgraded due to small sample sizes. We found no effect of selenium supplementation on thyroid stimulating hormone, health-related quality of life or thyroid ultrasound, in levothyroxine substitution-untreated individuals, and sporadic evaluation of clinically relevant outcomes in levothyroxine substitution-treated patients. Future well-powered RCTs, evaluating e.g. disease progression or health-related quality of life, are warranted before determining the relevance of selenium supplementation in autoimmune thyroiditis.

Indexed as

Quality of LifeHealth StatusHumansSeleniumThyroiditis, AutoimmuneThyrotropinThyroxineTreatment OutcomeSeleniumThyrotropinThyroxineChronic autoimmune thyroiditisHashimoto’s thyroiditisMeta-analysisQuality of lifeSelenium supplementationSystematic reviewThyroid hormonesThyroid ultrasound

Identifiers

PMID27683225
PMCPMC5272877
OpenAlexW2527602205

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.