Factors associated with elevated serum concentrations of anti-TPO antibodies in subjects with and without diffuse goitre. Results from the Ukrainian-American Cohort Study of thyroid cancer and other thyroid diseases following the Chornobyl accident.
OBJECTIVE
To examine factors associated with the prevalence of elevated anti-thyroid peroxidase antibodies (ATPO) among iodine-deficient adolescents and young adults and test whether associations vary according to the presence of diffuse goitre.


METHODS
Subjects were members of the Ukrainian-American Cohort Study exposed to the Chornobyl accident whose (131)I thyroid dose estimates were below 0.2 Gy.


METHODS
The odds ratios (ORs) for ATPO above 60 U/ml were estimated using logistic regression models for a number of factors in the total population (N = 5133), and separately for thyroid disease-free subjects (N = 3875), those with diffuse goitre (N = 921), and diffuse goitre without autoimmune thyroiditis (AIT; N = 883).


RESULTS
Elevated ATPO was found in 9.9% of the total population and ORs were significantly higher in females, older individuals, those examined in earlier calendar years, residents of Kyiv and Chernihiv oblasts, subjects with a family history of thyroid disease, higher thyroid ultrasound volume, suppressed or elevated TSH, blood collection in March to May, very low thyroglobulin (Tg), and shorter serum storage time. When thyroid disease-free subjects and those with diffuse goitre were compared, there were few differences in antibody prevalence, and after excluding individuals with AIT, the only difference was an increased prevalence of elevated ATPO at low urinary iodine in those with goitre alone.


CONCLUSIONS
Although a number of factors are associated with the prevalence of elevated ATPO in our study group, with the exception of urinary iodine these factors are independent of goitre, and differences between thyroid disease-free subjects and those with diffuse goitre are largely due to AIT.
Columbia University, New York, NY, USA. rjm1@columbia.edu
Robert J
RJ
McConnell
Alina V
AV
Brenner
Valery A
VA
Oliynyk
Jacob
J
Robbins
Galyna M
GM
Terekhova
Daniel J
DJ
Fink
Ovsiy V
OV
Epshtein
Maureen
M
Hatch
Victor M
VM
Shpak
A Bertrand
AB
Brill
Yevgeniy A
YA
Shelkovoy
Lydia B
LB
Zablotska
Ihor J
IJ
Masnyk
Geoffrey R
GR
Howe
Mykola D
MD
Tronko
D001323:Autoantibodies / Q000097:blood*; D047852:Chernobyl Nuclear Accident; D005260:Female; D006042:Goiter / Q000097:blood / Q000276:immunology / Q000652:urine; D006801:Humans; D007453:Iodide Peroxidase / Q000276:immunology*; D007455:Iodine / Q000652:urine; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D016017:Odds Ratio; D013954:Thyroglobulin / Q000276:immunology; D013959:Thyroid Diseases / Q000097:blood* / Q000276:immunology* / Q000652:urine; D013964:Thyroid Neoplasms / Q000097:blood* / Q000276:immunology* / Q000652:urine
D001323:Autoantibodies; D013954:Thyroglobulin; D007455:Iodine; D007453:Iodide Peroxidase