Thyroid dysfunction in primary biliary cirrhosis, primary sclerosing cholangitis and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease.
OBJECTIVE
Primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC) is frequently associated with autoimmune diseases, including thyroid disease, although it is uncertain that this association is higher than in other liver diseases.


METHODS
We compared the prevalence and incidence of thyroid dysfunction (TD) in a series of patients with PBC (n=67) with patients with primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC) (n=79) and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) (n=97) seen in a tertiary referral centre who had previously participated in clinical trials.


RESULTS
At initial evaluation, prevalence of TD in PBC was 13% compared with 11% in PSC (P=0.71) and 25% in NAFLD (P=0.08). Incidence of TD was 2.9 patients per 100 person-years in PBC compared with 2.1 patients per 100 person-years in PSC (P=0.57) and 1.8 patients per 100 person-years in non-alcoholic liver disease (P=0.45). Older age, female gender, biochemical abnormalities and concurrent autoimmune disorders were not predictive of the development of TD.


CONCLUSIONS
TD was unexpectedly as common in patients with PBC as in patients with PSC and NAFLD, yet significantly more common than expected in the general population. Further investigation of thyroid disease in PSC and NAFLD is warranted.
Silveira
Marina G
MG
Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN 55905, USA.
Mendes
Flavia D
FD
Diehl
Nancy N
NN
Enders
Felicity T
FT
Lindor
Keith D
KD
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D015209:Cholangitis, Sclerosing / Q000150:complications* / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000503:physiopathology; D005234:Fatty Liver / Q000150:complications* / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000503:physiopathology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D016014:Linear Models; D008105:Liver Cirrhosis, Biliary / Q000150:complications* / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000503:physiopathology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015995:Prevalence; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012307:Risk Factors; D013959:Thyroid Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D013961:Thyroid Gland / Q000503:physiopathology*; D013997:Time Factors; D055815:Young Adult