title: The incidence of lymphocytic thyroid infiltration and Hashimoto's thyroiditis increased in patients operated for benign goiter over a 31-year period.
abstract: The incidence of Hashimoto's thyroiditis (HT) seems to have increased over the last several decades. Since there is a lack of recent studies in the literature that evaluate this phenomenon on a histological basis, we aimed to assess the incidence of lymphocytic thyroid infiltration (LTI) in our large surgical patient collective over a 31-year period. In our study, a total of 1,050 patients who had undergone uni- or bilateral thyroid surgery for benign goiter were included (150 patients in each group, during 1979 to 2009). The stored histological sections of the removed thyroid specimens were re-analyzed, including routine grading of LTI severity on a scale of 0-4, according to Williams and Doniach. Positive correlations were seen for the incidences of LTI grading (0-4) (r = 0.077, p = 0.013) and HT (r = 0.044, p = 0.078) over the years. Furthermore, when comparing the years 1979-1989 and 1994-2009, i.e., before and after the second iodine prophylaxis had been introduced in Austria, a higher incidence of HT was found for the later years (2 out of 450, 0.4%, vs. 6 out of 600, 1.0%, respectively; p < 0.0001). In conclusion, the data demonstrate that the incidence of LTI and HT has increased substantially over the last 31 years.
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, Kaiserin Elisabeth Spital, Huglgasse 1-3, 1150, Vienna, Austria. johannes.ott@meduniwien.ac.at
authors.forename: Johannes
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Ott
authors.forename: Moritz
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Meusel
authors.forename: Andrea
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Schultheis
authors.forename: Regina
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Promberger
authors.forename: Shannon Joan
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Pallikunnel
authors.forename: Nikolaus
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Neuhold
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hermann
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D005260:Female; D006042:Goiter / Q000150:complications / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery; D050031:Hashimoto Disease / Q000150:complications / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000473:pathology*; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D008214:Lymphocytes / Q000473:pathology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D013961:Thyroid Gland / Q000473:pathology* / Q000601:surgery