title: Effects of Thyroid Autoimmunity on Early Atherosclerosis in Euthyroid Girls with Hashimoto's Thyroiditis.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  In the current study, we aimed to investigate whether thyroid autoimmunity (TA) had any effect on carotid intima-media thickness (cIMT) and enhanced the risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) independent of thyroid function (TF) in pubertal girls with Hashimoto's thyroiditis (HT).
  
  
  METHODS
  Sixty-six newly diagnosed euthyroid girls with HT with a mean age of 14.4±2.4 years were included in the study. The control group consisted of 41 age- and body mass index (BMI)-matched healthy girls. At enrollment, all subjects underwent physical examination including blood pressure, standing height, weight, waist circumference (WC), and hip circumference measurements. The lipid profile, high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP), homocysteine, blood glucose, insulin, TF, and thyroid antibodies were measured, and thyroid ultrasound and cIMT were performed.
  
  
  RESULTS
  There were no significant differences in anthropometric variables between the two groups, but the patients with HT had significantly higher waist-to-hip ratio (WHR). Thyroid hormones, insulin, homocysteine, and homeostatic model assessment-insulin resistance were not different between the two groups. Serum hs-CRP levels were significantly higher in patients than controls (3.4 ng/mL vs. 2.03 ng/mL), (p<0.001). Patients were also characterized by significantly higher total cholesterol (166.4±27 mg/dL vs. 151±22 mg/dL), (p<0.01) and low-density cholesterol (95.8±24.4 mg/dL vs. 82.6±20.7 mg/dL), (p<0.01) levels. Patients, regardless of TF, had significantly increased cIMT compared with controls [0.28 mm vs. 0.25 mm, (p<0.001)], and cIMT was correlated with weight-standard deviation score (SDS), BMI-SDS, WC-SDS, and WHR. This increase in cIMT was associated independently with BMI-SDS and hs-CRP levels.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  TA may be related to chronic inflammation, which may cause endothelial dysfunction, a promoter of atherosclerosis in girls with HT. cIMT is a good tool for the early detection and the monitoring of early atherosclerosis in euthyroid patients with HT. Early detection of risk factors of CVD, may be helpful for planning treatment and interventions, so as to prevent complications from the disease in adulthood.
authors.affiliation: Sakarya University Faculty of Medicine, Department of Pediatric Endocrinology, Sakarya, Turkey Phone: +90 216 495 68 26 E-mail: pinarisguven@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Pınar
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: İşgüven
authors.forename: Yasemin
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Gündüz
authors.forename: Mukaddes
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kılıç
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D050197:Atherosclerosis / Q000453:epidemiology*; D015992:Body Mass Index; D002340:Carotid Artery Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology; D059168:Carotid Intima-Media Thickness; D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D050031:Hashimoto Disease / Q000150:complications*; D006801:Humans; D012307:Risk Factors; D049629:Waist-Hip Ratio