title: The prevalence of hyper- and hypothyroidism in patients with ulcerative colitis.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The association between ulcerative colitis and thyroid disorders has been previously reported. However, most reports consist of single case description, and a systematic assessment of this relationship has only sporadically been investigated.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To study a cohort of patients with ulcerative colitis to establish the prevalence of hyper- and hypothyroidism.
  
  
  METHODS
  During a four-year period, we studied thyroid function in 162 ulcerative colitis patients (62 men, 100 women, age range 18-78 years).
  
  
  RESULTS
  Thyroid dysfunction was present in 4 patients (2.5%) of the overall population and was represented by both hypo- (3 patients) and hyperthyroidism (1 patient). The incidence of this kind of thyroid dysfunction was significantly (p=0.03) lower than that found in a large (more than 5000 subjects) control group.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  We conclude that the prevalence of hyper-/hypothyroidism is relatively low in patients with ulcerative colitis, at least in our country, and does not justify a systematic investigation of the thyroid function, except in selected cases, probably those with scarce or no response to standard therapeutic measures.
authors.affiliation: Division of Internal Medicine, Italy.
authors.forename: Giovanni
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Casella
authors.forename: Elisabetta
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: De Marco
authors.forename: Elisabetta
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Antonelli
authors.forename: Marco
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Daperno
authors.forename: Vittorio
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Baldini
authors.forename: Stefano
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Signorini
authors.forename: Federica
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Sannella
authors.forename: Antonio
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Morelli
authors.forename: Vincenzo
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Villanacci
authors.forename: Gabrio
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Bassotti