Prevalence of thyroid antibodies in Nigerian patients.
BACKGROUND
Thyroid antibody testing is not routinely available in developing countries, and few studies have measured thyroid antibodies in Africans. The significance of thyroid autoimmunity in an African setting is thus unclear.


OBJECTIVE
To determine the prevalence of thyroid antibodies in patients attending a Nigerian teaching hospital.


METHODS
Prospective survey.


METHODS
We measured antibodies to thyroglobulin (TgAb) and thyroid peroxidase (TPOAb) using an ELISA technique in 104 patients with various thyroid pathologies attending an endocrine referral centre in Lagos, Nigeria. Patients were clinically grouped into Graves' disease (GD) (n = 69), simple non-toxic goitre (SNTG) (n = 21), toxic nodular goitre (TNG) (n = 8) and suspected Hashimoto's thyroiditis (HT) (n = 6). Blood donors without thyroid disease (n = 100) acted as controls.


RESULTS
TgAb and TPOAb were found in 4% and 7%, respectively, of healthy adult controls, 11.6 and 76.8% of patients with GD, 25% and 12.5% of patients with TNG and 9.52% and 14.29% of patients with SNTG. TPOAb testing confirmed HT in six patients, and identified two further cases that would have been misdiagnosed without antibody testing.


CONCLUSIONS
Thyroid autoimmunity appears more common in these Nigerian patients than in previous reports from Africa, and TPOAb was significantly associated with auto-immune thyroid disease. The clinical utility of these antibody measurements requires further evaluation in a wider African population.
Okosieme
O E
OE
Centre for Endocrine and Diabetes Science, School of Medicine, Cardiff University, Cardiff CF14 4XN. okosiemeoe@cf.ac.uk
Taylor
R C
RC
Ohwovoriole
A E
AE
Parkes
A B
AB
Lazarus
J H
JH
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000906:Antibodies / Q000097:blood*; D001327:Autoimmune Diseases / Q000276:immunology*; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007453:Iodide Peroxidase / Q000276:immunology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009549:Nigeria; D011446:Prospective Studies; D013954:Thyroglobulin / Q000276:immunology*; D013959:Thyroid Diseases / Q000276:immunology*; D013961:Thyroid Gland / Q000276:immunology
D000906:Antibodies; D013954:Thyroglobulin; D007453:Iodide Peroxidase