Prolonged weightlessness effect on postflight plasma thyroid hormones

Abstract

Blood drawn before and after spaceflight from the nine Skylab astronauts showed a statistically significant increase in mean plasma thyroxine (T-4) of 1.4 micro g/dl and in thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) of 4 microunits ml. Concurrent triiodothyronine (T-3) levels decreased 27 ng/dl indicating inhibited conversion of T-4 to T-3. The T-3 decrease is postulated to be a result of the increased cortisol levels noted during and following each mission. These results confirm the thyroidal changes noted after the shorter Apollo flights and show that thyroid hormone levels change during spaceflight.