A long-term follow up of patients with autoimmune thyroid disease.
A survey in a general practice in the North-East of England in 1963 detected thyroglobulin antibodies in 16.2% of women and 4.3% of men. High titres of antibodies were found in 4.6% of women and 1.6% of men. Forty six subjects with thyroglobulin antibodies (from an original total of fifty-two) were studied in 1972 and forty of these were studied further in 1975. These subjects were compared with a group of  age- and sex-matched controls from the original survey. Three of the subjects had developed overt hypothyroidism by 1975 and a raised serum thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) concentration was found more frequently in euthyroid subjects peviously found to be antibody positive. There was a striking difference in the antibody studies in that only 26% of the previously antibody positive subjects had thyroglobulin antibodies in 1972 and 30% in 1975. A raised serum TSH concentration was found to correlate with cytoplasmic a-tibodies and particularly with the combination of cytoplasmic and thyroglobulin antibodies.
D000328:Adult; D001323:Autoantibodies / Q000032:analysis; D001327:Autoimmune Diseases / Q000150:complications / Q000276:immunology; D003593:Cytoplasm / Q000276:immunology; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D007037:Hypothyroidism / Q000209:etiology; D008297:Male; D013954:Thyroglobulin / Q000276:immunology; D013959:Thyroid Diseases / Q000150:complications / Q000276:immunology; D013972:Thyrotropin / Q000097:blood
D001323:Autoantibodies; D013972:Thyrotropin; D013954:Thyroglobulin