Thyroid disease in the time of COVID-19

• Published in: Endocrine 2020-06, Vol.68 (3), p.471-474
• Main Authors: Dworakowska, Dorota, Grossman, Ashley B.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Asthma; Betacoronavirus; Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease; Congestive heart failure; Coronaviridae; Coronavirus Infections - complications; Coronavirus Infections - immunology; Coronaviruses; COVID-19; Diabetes; Diabetes mellitus; Endocrine disorders; Endocrine Reports from the COVID-19 Frontline; Endocrinology; Humanities and Social Sciences; Humans; Internal Medicine; Lung cancer; Lung diseases; Mechanical ventilation; Medicine; Medicine & Public Health; multidisciplinary; Obstructive lung disease; Pandemics; Pneumonia, Viral - complications; Pneumonia, Viral - immunology; Public health; Risk Factors; SARS Virus; SARS-CoV-2; Science; Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome; Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2; Thyroid cancer; Thyroid diseases; Thyroid Diseases - complications; Thyroid Diseases - immunology; Thyroid Diseases - virology; Thyroiditis, Autoimmune - virology; Viewpoint
• ISSN: 1355-008X; 1559-0100
• DOI: 10.1007/s12020-020-02364-8

The novel coronavirus disease COVID-19 is produced by SARS-CoV-2. WHO has declared COVID-19 as a public health emergency, with the most susceptible populations (requiring ventilation) being the elderly, pregnant women and people with associated co-morbidities including heart failure, uncontrolled diabetes, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, asthma and cancer. However, such general guidance does not provide information regarding COVID-19 risks in patients with suffering from pre-existing thyroid problems, and furthermore, we do not know whether patients with COVID-19 (symptomatic or without symptoms), who have not previously had thyroid issues develop endocrine thyroid dysfunction after infection. The European Society for Endocrinology recently published a statement on COVID-19 and endocrine diseases ( Endocrine , 2020); however, thyroid diseases were not mentioned specifically. We have therefore reviewed the current literature on thyroid diseases (excluding cancer) and COVID-19, including data from the previous coronavirus pandemic caused by the SARS-associated coronavirus (SARS-CoV), a member of the same family Coronaviridae leading to severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS). At the moment there are no data suggesting that thyroid patients are at higher risk of COVID-19, but this requites further research and data analysis.