The Study
Selenium decreases thyroglobulin concentrations but does not affect the increased thyroxine-to-triiodothyronine ratio in children with congenital hypothyroidism.
We don't know how this study was done well enough to say if selenium really changed anything in kids' bodies. It might have, but we can't tell for sure from just the summary.
Analysis score
Maximum 90 for a randomized controlled trial.
Where the score came from
Kids born with underactive thyroids take medicine to replace their thyroid hormone. This study gave them a small selenium supplement to see if it helped their body use the medicine better.
Where does this study sit?
Reviews of RCTs (Meta-analyses)
Max 100Randomized Trials
Max 90Reviews of Cohort Studies
Max 85Cohort Studies
Max 72Reviews of Case-Control Studies
Max 63Case-Control Studies
Max 58Cross-Sectional & Case Series
Max 50Expert Opinion
Max 537 / 100
Quality score
Participants are randomly assigned to treatment or control groups, minimizing bias. The gold standard for testing whether an intervention causes an effect.
Key takeaways
Summary
Based on the study abstract and findings.
- 1This suggests selenium helps calm down the thyroid gland’s overstimulation but doesn’t help convert the medicine into its active form.
- 2Selenium levels went up by 74%, thyroglobulin dropped by 74%, and TSH got normal — but T4, T3, and the T4/T3 ratio stayed the same.
Score breakdown, methodology, conflicts of interest, evidence analysis & raw study data
Publication
Journal
The Journal of clinical endocrinology and metabolism
Year
2001
Authors
J. Chanoine, J. Nève, Sing-yung Wu, J. Vanderpas, P. Bourdoux
Related Content
Claims (4)
The body converts the thyroid hormone T4 into its active form, T3, using enzymes that require selenium as a component.
Children born with an underactive thyroid who take levothyroxine medication show different levels of certain thyroid-related substances in their blood compared to children with normal thyroid function, including lower selenium, T3, and thyroglobulin, and higher TSH, reverse T3, and T4.
In children with congenital hypothyroidism who are already taking levothyroxine, taking a selenium supplement for three months lowers thyroglobulin levels by about 74%, but does not change the amounts of thyroid hormones in the blood or the ratio between T4 and T3.
Giving children with congenital hypothyroidism selenium supplements at 20–60 mcg per day for three months does not change the levels of thyroid hormones T4 and T3 in their blood, or the ratio between them.
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional before making health decisions.