SARS-CoV-2 mRNA Vaccination and Graves' Disease: A Report of 12 Cases and Review of the Literature

Abstract

Context and objective: Thyroid autoimmunity has been reported to be associated with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) and the SARS-CoV-2 vaccination recently. We report a series of patients who presented with new onset or relapse of Graves' disease-related hyperthyroidism shortly after receiving the SARS-CoV-2 messenger RNA (mRNA) vaccine at a single tertiary institution in Singapore. Methods and results: We describe 12 patients who developed hyperthyroidism within a relatively short interval (median onset, 17 [range, 5-63] days) after receiving the SARS-CoV-2 mRNA vaccine. The majority were females (11/12) with median age of 35.5 (range, 22-74) years. Six patients had new-onset hyperthyroidism, whereas the other 6 had relapse of previously well-controlled Graves' disease. TSH receptor antibody concentrations ranged from 2.4 to 32 IU/L. The majority of the patients were able to go for the second dose of the vaccine without any further exacerbations. Literature review revealed 21 other similar cases reported from across the world. Conclusion: Our case series provides insight into the characteristics of individuals in whom Graves' disease was triggered by the SARS-CoV-2 vaccination. Clinicians need to be vigilant of precipitation or exacerbation of autoimmune thyroid disorders in predisposed individuals after exposure to the SARS-CoV-2 vaccination. Further epidemiological and mechanistic studies are required to elucidate the possible associations between the SARS-CoV-2 vaccines and the development of thyroid autoimmunity.