Microbiota Alterations in Patients with Autoimmune Thyroid Diseases: A Systematic Review

Autoimmune thyroid diseases (AITDs) are chronic autoimmune disorders that cause impaired immunoregulation, leading to specific immune responses against thyroid antigens. Graves' disease (GD) and Hashimoto's thyroiditis (HT) are the major forms of AITDs. Increasing evidence suggests a possible role of microbiota alterations in the pathogenesis and progression of AITDs. This systematic review was designed to address the following question: "Is microbiota altered in patients with AITDs?" After screening the selected studies using the inclusion and exclusion criteria, 16 studies were included in this review (in accordance with PRISMA statement guidelines). A meta-analysis revealed that patients with HT showed significantly higher values of diversity indices (except for the Simpson index) and that patients with GD showed significant tendencies toward lower values of all assessed indices compared with healthy subjects. However, the latter demonstrated a higher relative abundance of Bacteroidetes and Actinobacteria at the phylum level and thus Prevotella and Bifidobacterium at the genus level, respectively. Thyroid peroxidase antibodies showed the most significant positive and negative correlations between bacterial levels and thyroid functional parameters. In conclusion, significant alterations in the diversity and composition of the intestinal microbiota were observed in both GD and HT patients.