Abstract
Background The aim of this study was to determine frequency of Hashimoto’s thyroiditis (HT), by determination of serum TPO-Ab titer in goitrous adolescents attending Centre for Nuclear Medicine (CENUM), Mayo Hospital, Lahore, Pakistan.
Method Serum TPO-Ab was determined in 277 local goitrous adolescents (female 194, male 83) with euthyroidism or subclinical hypothyroidism. Their mean (±SD) age was 15.8 + ***2.5 years with age range 10 to 19 year. Female and male adolescents were comparable in age, goiter size and serum thyroid hormone levels.
Results Mean TSH and percentage of TSH levels > 3.0 mIU/L was significantly higher in male adolescents. High serum TPO-Ab titer (> 20.0 IU/ml) or HT was detected in 38 (13.7%) patients. The incidence of HT in female (16.5%) was higher than male adolescents (7.2%) but the difference was not statistically significant (p=0.120). Similarly goiter size (palpable or visible) or patient age (below or above 16 year) has no significant effect on HT frequency. However, compared to adolescents with TSH within normal laboratory range those with TSH level above the upper normal limit (4.0 mIU/L) had significantly more frequency of HT (10.4% versus 30.4%; p=0.001).
Conclusion Thus this study reports 13.7% prevalence of HT-associated goiter among local adolescents presenting with benign goiter, in Lahore Pakistan.
Footnotes
Disclosure Statement: The authors have no competing financial interest.
- Abbreviations
- AIT
- autoimmune thyroiditis
- TSH
- thyroid stimulating hormone
- USI
- universal salt iodization
- HT
- Hashimoto’s thyroiditis
- TPO-Ab
- thyroid peroxidase antibodies
- CENUM
- Centre for Nuclear Medicine
- FT4
- free 3, 5, 3/, 5/-tetra-iodothyronine
- FT3
- free 3, 5, 37-triiodothyronine
- ELISA
- Enzyme linked immune sorbent assay
- RIA
- radioimmunoassay
- IRMA
- imunoradiometric assay
- CV
- cumulative variation
- Tg
- thyroglobulin
- pmol/L
- pico mole per litre
- mIU/L
- milli international unit