Evaluation of the consumption of potentially goitrogenic food products in various models of plant-based diets in Poland

The aim of this study was to evaluate the consumption frequency of selected examples of goitrogenic foods in four different groups of people in Poland, who were on traditional, vegetarian, vegan, and pesco-vegetarian diets. The validated consumption frequency questionnaire of the examples of goitrogenic foods in four groups of people (n = 365) on the aforementioned diets was performed in Poland in 2022. The statistical correspondence analysis model (CAM) was used to quantify and reveal potential relations between dietary habits and thyroid dysfunction, family history of thyroid disease, use of thyroid drugs (L-thyroxine, propylthiouracil, thiamazole), or iodine dietary supplements/ drugs. Statistical analyses revealed an increased odds ratio of more than three, eight, and six times higher for tofu, plant-based meat, and soy beverages, respectively, for vegetarian vs traditional diet. Respondents with diagnosed hypothyroidism consumed soy and flax products, but avoided iodine-rich products. All respondents on a traditional diet used iodine-rich products, while 22% of vegetarians and 23% of vegans excluded them. CAM analysis did not show any relation between brassica vegetables and thyroid dysfunction. Despite the fact that the results obtained using the food questionnaire were not combined with biochemical data, some tendencies in the food behaviors among Polish vegans, vegetarians, and pesco-vegetarians appeared. Apart from some interesting correlations and tendencies revealed in our study, further in-depth research, combined with biochemical analysis will allow to better understand and explain these observations. Efforts should be made in the future to equalize the proportions of female and male participants of such studies, which should provide some additional data on the influence of sex.