does having hypothyroidism leed to fungal infections

The short version: the evidence in front of me does not directly answer whether hypothyroidism causes fungal infections, but the mechanism is plausible and the retrieval misses the key studies.

Hypothyroidism slows metabolism, reduces blood flow to the skin, and impairs immune function. A sluggish thyroid means lower body temperature, drier skin, and slower wound healing. All of those create conditions where fungi can take hold more easily. The immune system's ability to clear Candida depends partly on thyroid hormone levels, because T cells and neutrophils need normal metabolic function to work.

The retrieved studies do not test this directly. One 2004 review notes that fungal vaginitis was not increased in obese patients [1], but that is a different condition in a different population. A 2014 case-control study found maternal hypothyroidism was associated with a 4.25 times higher odds of autism in children [3], which points to immune dysregulation during pregnancy but says nothing about fungal infections. A 2025 case report of an infant with biliary atresia and congenital hypothyroidism also had CMV infection [2], but that is a virus, not a fungus, and a single case proves nothing.

What the retrieval does not contain: any study comparing fungal infection rates in treated versus untreated hypothyroid patients, any study of skin fungal infections in hypothyroid populations, or any mechanistic study of thyroid hormone effects on antifungal immunity. That is a gap, not a negative finding.

My call: hypothyroidism likely increases susceptibility to fungal infections through slowed metabolism and impaired immune function, but the evidence here does not confirm it. If you have a facial fungal infection and untreated hypothyroidism, treating the thyroid is the first step. Confidence: low, because the direct evidence is missing.