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Non-thyroid autoantibodies in autoimmune thyroid disease
1Clinical Sciences Centre, University of Sheffield, Northern General Hospital, Sheffield S5 7AU, UK. a.p.weetman@sheffield.ac.uk
Summary
Patients with autoimmune thyroid disease often have other organ-specific conditions due to shared genetic factors. Autoantibody screening can help identify associated diseases, but cost-benefit data is lacking.
Area of Science:
- Endocrinology
- Immunology
Background:
- Autoimmune thyroid disease (AITD) frequently co-occurs with other organ-specific and non-organ-specific autoimmune conditions.
- Shared genetic and environmental factors likely contribute to these disease associations, particularly within autoimmune polyglandular syndromes.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review the frequency of disease-specific autoantibodies in patients with thyroid autoimmunity.
- To examine the utility of autoantibody screening for associated conditions in patients with AITD.
- To provide recommendations for autoantibody testing in AITD and related autoimmune disorders.
Main Methods:
- Literature review focusing on disease-specific autoantibodies in AITD.
- Analysis of associations between AITD and conditions such as pernicious anemia, Addison's disease, celiac disease, primary biliary cirrhosis, myasthenia gravis, lymphocytic hypophysitis, systemic lupus erythematosus, and rheumatoid arthritis.
Main Results:
- Autoantibody screening can identify associated autoimmune conditions in patients with AITD.
- Specific autoantibody profiles are linked to various co-occurring diseases.
- Recommendations are proposed for targeted autoantibody testing in clinical practice.
Conclusions:
- Autoantibody testing is valuable for screening associated autoimmune conditions in patients with AITD.
- Clinicians should use individual judgment and awareness to guide autoantibody screening due to a lack of cost-benefit data from large-scale trials.