Short- and long-term impact of SARS-CoV-2 on clinical characteristics of Graves’ disease patients: a retrospective cohort study
- 1Department of Endocrinology and Metabolism, Shanghai General Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, P.R. China
- 2School of Medicine, Tongji University, Shanghai, P.R. China
- 3Centre for Individualised Infection Medicine (CiiM), A Joint Venture Between The Helmholtz-Centre for Infection Research (HZI) and Hannover Medical School (MHH), Hannover, Germany
Abstract
Background: The aim of this study was to comprehensively evaluate the effects of SARS-CoV-2 infection on treated Graves’ disease (GD) patients.
Methods: This single-center retrospective cohort study included 220 patients with GD receiving stable antithyroid drug treatment. Among 179 questionnaire respondents, 107 had confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection and 72 were uninfected. Paired thyroid function analyses were performed in 65 infected patients, and long COVID was assessed in 72 participants.
Results: In the cohort, 107 patients (77.6% female; 78.5% aged <60 years) were infected with SARS-CoV-2. COVID-19 vaccination was less frequent among infected than among uninfected participants (70.1 vs 84.7%, P = 0.025). At 12 weeks postinfection, TT3 increased from 1.76 to 1.97 nmol/L (P = 0.032), whereas TSH, FT3, FT4, TT4, and TRAb remained unchanged. Total cholesterol and HDL-C decreased after infection. TT3 changes differed by vaccination status (P for interaction = 0.019), although vaccination was not associated with biochemical thyroid function deterioration (OR: 0.88, 95% CI: 0.25–3.12). Among 72 participants who completed long COVID assessment, 37 (51.4%) met the operational definition; increased hair loss was the most common symptom. Smoking was associated with higher odds of long COVID (OR: 5.37, 95% CI: 1.05–27.36).
Conclusion: SARS-CoV-2 infection in treated GD patients was associated with modest short-term thyroid and metabolic changes, while most thyroid indices remained stable. These exploratory findings highlight the need for further prospective studies.
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BibTeX
@article{li2026short,
title = {{Short- and long-term impact of SARS-CoV-2 on clinical characteristics of Graves’ disease patients: a retrospective cohort study}},
author = {Bingxin Li and Shiqi Song and Yuwei Gong and Xiaoyun Feng and Yanfang Hou and Jiaying Yang and Fang Liu and Yufan Wang and Yongde Peng and Yihan Zhang and Huanbai Xu and Ruihua Chen},
journal = {Endocrine Connections},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.1530/ec-26-0616},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1530/ec-26-0616},
note = {CC BY-NC-ND 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Short- and long-term impact of SARS-CoV-2 on clinical characteristics of Graves’ disease patients: a retrospective cohort study
AU - Bingxin Li
AU - Shiqi Song
AU - Yuwei Gong
AU - Xiaoyun Feng
AU - Yanfang Hou
AU - Jiaying Yang
AU - Fang Liu
AU - Yufan Wang
AU - Yongde Peng
AU - Yihan Zhang
AU - Huanbai Xu
AU - Ruihua Chen
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/26
JO - Endocrine Connections
DO - 10.1530/ec-26-0616
UR - https://doi.org/10.1530/ec-26-0616
AB - Background: The aim of this study was to comprehensively evaluate the effects of SARS-CoV-2 infection on treated Graves’ disease (GD) patients. Methods: This single-center retrospective cohort study included 220 patients with GD receiving stable antithyroid drug treatment. Among 179 questionnaire respondents, 107 had confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection and 72 were uninfected. Paired thyroid function analyses were performed in 65 infected patients, and long COVID was assessed in 72 participants. Results: In the cohort, 107 patients (77.6% female; 78.5% aged <60 years) were infected with SARS-CoV-2. COVID-19 vaccination was less frequent among infected than among uninfected participants (70.1 vs 84.7%, P = 0.025). At 12 weeks postinfection, TT3 increased from 1.76 to 1.97 nmol/L (P = 0.032), whereas TSH, FT3, FT4, TT4, and TRAb remained unchanged. Total cholesterol and HDL-C decreased after infection. TT3 changes differed by vaccination status (P for interaction = 0.019), although vaccination was not associated with biochemical thyroid function deterioration (OR: 0.88, 95% CI: 0.25–3.12). Among 72 participants who completed long COVID assessment, 37 (51.4%) met the operational definition; increased hair loss was the most common symptom. Smoking was associated with higher odds of long COVID (OR: 5.37, 95% CI: 1.05–27.36). Conclusion: SARS-CoV-2 infection in treated GD patients was associated with modest short-term thyroid and metabolic changes, while most thyroid indices remained stable. These exploratory findings highlight the need for further prospective studies.
SN - 2049-3614
ER -