High prevalence of hypothyroidism in patients with autoimmune pancreatitis.
Autoimmune pancreatitis is a unique form of chronic pancreatitis and has been correlated with various extrapancreatic lesions. To search for a correlation between autoimmune pancreatitis and thyroid lesions, we measured thyroid functions in 41 patients with autoimmune pancreatitis and in 41 patients with chronic calcifying pancreatitis and investigated the correlation between HLA antigens and hypothyroidism. We found a significant difference in the prevalence of antithyroglobulin antibody and hypothyroidism between patients with autoimmune pancreatitis and those with chronic pancreatitis (34.1 vs. 7.3%, P = 0.005, and 26.8 vs. 0%, P = 0.0005, respectively). Patients with hypothyroidism had a significantly higher frequency of antithyroglobulin antibody (63.6%) than those without hypothyroidism but showed no differences in other findings, including serum IgG4 concentration. We could find no significant association between any HLA antigens and the hypothyroid state of autoimmune pancreatitis. One quarter of the patients with autoimmune pancreatitis have hypothyroidism that may be independent of the active state of the pancreatic lesion or systemic fibrosing disorder, and thus patients suspected of having autoimmune pancreatitis should be evaluated for possible hypothyroidism.
Department of Medicine, Gastroenterology, Shinshu University School of Medicine, 3-1-1 Asahi, Matsumoto 390-8621, Japan.
Kenichi
K
Komatsu
Hideaki
H
Hamano
Yasuhide
Y
Ochi
Mari
M
Takayama
Takashi
T
Muraki
Kaname
K
Yoshizawa
Akihiro
A
Sakurai
Masao
M
Ota
Shigeyuki
S
Kawa
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001323:Autoantibodies / Q000276:immunology; D001327:Autoimmune Diseases / Q000150:complications* / Q000276:immunology; D002908:Chronic Disease; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007037:Hypothyroidism / Q000150:complications / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000276:immunology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010195:Pancreatitis / Q000276:immunology*; D015995:Prevalence
D001323:Autoantibodies; C006606:anti-thyroglobulin