[Thyroid disease in autoimmune liver diseases]

It has been reported that autoimmune liver diseases, autoimmune hepatitis, primary biliary cirrhosis and primary sclerosing cholangitis, complicate thyroid disorder. According to the Nationwide survey in Japan, hypothyroidism most of which are due to chronic thyroiditis was seen in both autoimmune hepatitis and primary biliary cirrhosis, at 12% and 5.8%, respectively. It is sometimes happen that the manifestation of thyroid disorder proceeds the symptoms of liver disease. Because middle-aged women preferably tend to suffer from both autoimmune liver disease and autoimmune thyroid disease, it is important that we should be concerned both diseases when we are making diagnosis in these patients.