Turner's syndrome and thyroid disease: a transverse study of pediatric patients in Brazil

An increased prevalence of autoimmune thyroid disease (AITD) has been described in Turner's syndrome (TS), but the extent of this association is still controversial. Some studies also suggest that AITD is more frequent among patients with X-isochromosome. In order to determine the prevalence of AITD among girls with TS, and to look for an association with age and karyotype, we evaluated 71 patients with a mean age of 11.4 years (range 0-19.9). 15.5% (11/71) were hypothyroid, 17 (23.9%) were positive for thyroid peroxidase (TPO) and/or thyroglobulin (Tg) antibodies, and 24 (33.8%) had thyromegaly. No abnormality was observed before 4 years, and the highest frequencies were observed after 16 years. There were no significant differences concerning thyroid findings among patients with a 45,X karyotype, mosaics, and structural rearrangements. Half of the patients (35/71) exhibited one or more abnormalities, which demonstrates the importance of careful evaluation of thyroid function in all girls with TS.