Hypothyroidism and Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease Connection

Your thyroid gland plays a key role in controlling your metabolism, including how your body handles fats in your liver.

A new study in the journal JGH Open uncovers a terrifying connection between hypothyroidism and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD).

Around a third of the world suffers from NAFLD, which is alarming when considering that it destroys the liver and eventually may require a liver transplant. That’s why it’s so important for scientists to identify all its risk factors so we can tackle them.

In a study conducted between 2016 and 2021 with 2,901 participants, researchers explored a connection between low thyroid function and NAFLD.

These individuals were divided into three groups based on their thyroid function: those with normal thyroid levels, those with low thyroid function, and others with subclinical hypothyroidism, which means their thyroid hormones were normal while their thyroid-stimulating hormone was too high.

Researchers followed up with these participants for an average of 15.6 months to see who would go on to develop NAFLD.

This is what they found:

1. 8.9% of those with normal thyroid function and 13.4% of those with low thyroid function developed NAFLD during the study period.

2. People with low thyroid function were 53% more likely to develop NAFLD.

3. Those with subclinical hypothyroidism had a 95% higher risk.

4. While subclinical hypothyroidism was clearly linked to an increased risk of MASLD, having slightly low thyroid function (but not full-blown hypothyroidism) didn’t seem to increase the risk by much.

Therefore, hypothyroidism and subclinical hypothyroidism are both risk factors for NAFLD, independent of sex, age, body mass index, cholesterol, and blood pressure.

This study is important for a few reasons.

First, it highlights how thyroid health can influence liver health, adding to our understanding of how different parts of the body affect each other.

Second, it shows that even mild thyroid issues, like subclinical hypothyroidism, can have significant health impacts.

And finally, it suggests that paying attention to thyroid health could be one way to help prevent liver disease, especially in populations where these health issues are common.

Fortunately, it’s quite easy to heal hypothyroidism naturally using simple lifestyle changes explained here…

And if you have already been diagnosed with NAFLD, it’s crucial that you follow the simple steps explained here to clear your liver…