title: Papillary thyroid carcinoma risk factors in the Yunnan plateau of southwestern China.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  This study investigated clinical and pathological characteristics and risk factors in papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) patients' native to Yunnan plateau in southwestern China.
  
  
  METHODS
  Clinical data from 1,198 patients diagnosed with PTC (n=578) and control subjects (n=620) with benign thyroid disease (ie, thyroid nodule disease, benign thyroid diseases [BTD]) in Yunnan province were analyzed retrospectively.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The mean patient age was lower for PTC than for BTD. Positive ratios of thyroid peroxidase antibody, thyroglobulin antibody (TGAb), and thyrotrophin receptor antibody (TRAb) were higher in PTC than in BTD patients. The ratio of PTC coexisting with Hashimoto's thyroiditis (HT) or with lymphocytic thyroiditis was higher than that of BTD. The number of patients whose age at menarche was ≤13 years, who had given birth to less than or equal to two children, or who were in premenopause were higher in the PTC than in the BTD group. Multivariate conditional logistic regression analyses revealed that age >45 years, nodal size >1 cm, and elevated TG levels were protective factors against PTC. Abnormally elevated TGAb and TRAb levels were independent risk factors for PTC in females.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  HT was not an independent risk factor for but was associated with PTC. TRAb is a risk factor for PTC in individuals living in the Yunnan plateau, but not for those in the plains region.
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Environmental Science and Engineering, Kunming University of Science and Technology, Kunming, People's Republic of China; Faculty of Life Science and Technology, Kunming University of Science and Technology, Kunming, People's Republic of China; Medical Oncology, The First People's Hospital of Yunnan Province, Kunming, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Rong
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Zeng
authors.affiliation: Medical Oncology, The First People's Hospital of Yunnan Province, Kunming, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Tao
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Shou
authors.affiliation: Surgical Oncology, The First People's Hospital of Yunnan Province Kunming, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Kun-Xian
authors.initials: KX
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.affiliation: Institute of Clinical and Basic Medicine Research, The Affiliated Hospital of Kunming University of Science and Technology, Kunming, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Tao
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Shen
authors.affiliation: Institute of Clinical and Basic Medicine Research, The Affiliated Hospital of Kunming University of Science and Technology, Kunming, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Jin-Ping
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Institute of Clinical and Basic Medicine Research, The Affiliated Hospital of Kunming University of Science and Technology, Kunming, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Rong-Xia
authors.initials: RX
authors.lastname: Zuo
authors.affiliation: Institute of Clinical and Basic Medicine Research, The Affiliated Hospital of Kunming University of Science and Technology, Kunming, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Yong-Qing
authors.initials: YQ
authors.lastname: Zheng
authors.affiliation: Institute of Clinical and Basic Medicine Research, The Affiliated Hospital of Kunming University of Science and Technology, Kunming, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Xin-Ming
authors.initials: XM
authors.lastname: Yan
keywords: Yunnan plateau; autoimmune disease status; benign thyroid disease; papillary thyroid carcinoma; risk factors