title: Influence of smoking on Graves' disease with or without ophthalmopathy and nontoxic nodular goiter in Taiwan.
abstract: The effect of smoking habits on Graves' disease with or without ophthalmopathy and nontoxic nodular goiter has been discussed for more than 10 years in Western countries, but there are no published reports from Oriental countries, where the prevalence of cigarette smoking among women is lower than in Western women. The purpose of this study was to determine the relationship between smoking and Graves' ophthalmopathy, Graves' disease without ophthalmopathy, and nontoxic nodular goiter in Taiwan. The study included 349 patients with thyroid disease from endocrinologic clinics, including 116 patients with Graves' ophthalmopathy (92 women, 24 men), 108 patients with Graves' disease but without ophthalmopathy (96 women, 12 men), and 125 patients with nontoxic nodular goiter (114 women, 11 men). Information on smoking habits at the time of onset of the disease was obtained by a self-administered structured questionnaire. Since women generally smoke less than men, female and male smoking habits were compared separately with those of controls matched with patients on the basis of age. There was a significantly higher prevalence of cigarette smoking in women with Graves' ophthalmopathy and nontoxic nodular goiter than for healthy female controls, showing an odds ratio of 8.15 and 6.48, respectively, despite a lower prevalence of cigarette smoking in Taiwan (7.6% in women with Graves' ophthalmopathy, 6.1% in women with nontoxic nodular goiter) than in the West (64.2% in women with Graves' ophthalmopathy, 30% in women with nontoxic nodular goiter). Men in these three disease groups and women with Graves' disease without ophthalmopathy showed no significant association with cigarette smoking.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, College of Medicine, National Taiwan University, Taipei, R.O.C.
authors.forename: Y L
authors.initials: YL
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: T C
authors.initials: TC
authors.lastname: Chang
authors.forename: C J
authors.initials: CJ
authors.lastname: Chen
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D006044:Goiter, Nodular / Q000209:etiology*; D006111:Graves Disease / Q000209:etiology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012907:Smoking / Q000009:adverse effects*; D013624:Taiwan