Autoimmune thyroid disease and autoimmune rheumatic disorders: a two-sided analysis.
Chronic autoimmune thyroiditis (ATD) frequently overlaps with autoimmune rheumatic diseases. The aim of this study was to evaluate the prevalence of various non-organ-specific autoantibodies in patients with ATD, as well as the presence of ATD in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and rheumatoid arthritis (RA).


METHODS
Group 1 comprised 80 patients with ATD, and group 2 contained 80 patients with SLE or RA. A control group consisted of 34 healthy subjects. Group 1 was examined for the presence of non-organ-specific autoantibodies. Serum fT3, fT4, TSH, and antibodies against thyroglobulin, thyroperoxidase, as well as ultrasound of thyroid gland, were determined in group 2.


RESULTS
Patients with ATD had a significantly higher prevalence of antinuclear antibodies (ANA) than control subjects (45% vs. 14.7%, P < 0.001). There were no significant differences in the prevalence of other antibodies between the groups. ANA-positive patients were younger than ANA-negative ones and had significantly higher anti-TG values (P < 0.05). The prevalence of ATD in group 2 was significantly higher than in the control subjects (24% vs. 8%, P < 0.05). No significant differences in the prevalence of ATD were detected between SLE and RA.


CONCLUSIONS
The authors conclude that ANA is the most frequent non-organ-specific antibody associated with ATD, while the other antibodies occur rarely. The prevalence of ATD in SLE and RA patients was 24%. These results indicate that it is clinically important to screen patients with SLE and RA for the coexistence of thyroid autoimmune disease.
Lazúrová
Ivica
I
1st Department of Internal Medicine, Medical Faculty, Pavol Jozef Sáfarik University, Kosice, Slovakia.
Benhatchi
Karim
K
Rovenský
Jozef
J
Kozáková
Darina
D
Wagnerová
Hedviga
H
Tajtáková
Mária
M
Shoenfeld
Yehuda
Y
Macejova
Z
Z
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000974:Antibodies, Antinuclear / Q000097:blood; D001172:Arthritis, Rheumatoid / Q000175:diagnosis*; D001323:Autoantibodies / Q000097:blood*; D045744:Cell Line, Tumor; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay / Q000379:methods; D005260:Female; D019084:Fluorescent Antibody Technique, Indirect / Q000379:methods; D006801:Humans; D007453:Iodide Peroxidase / Q000276:immunology; D008180:Lupus Erythematosus, Systemic / Q000175:diagnosis*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D013954:Thyroglobulin / Q000276:immunology; D013961:Thyroid Gland / Q000276:immunology / Q000473:pathology; D013967:Thyroiditis, Autoimmune / Q000175:diagnosis*; D013972:Thyrotropin / Q000097:blood; D013974:Thyroxine / Q000097:blood; D014284:Triiodothyronine / Q000097:blood; D055815:Young Adult
D000974:Antibodies, Antinuclear; D001323:Autoantibodies; D014284:Triiodothyronine; D013972:Thyrotropin; D013954:Thyroglobulin; D007453:Iodide Peroxidase; D013974:Thyroxine