Rheumatic associations of autoimmune thyroid disease: a systematic review

To investigate specific disease patterns in the rheumatic manifestations associated with autoimmune thyroid disease (AITD) through a systematic literature review. We performed a systematic review using the Medline OVID, PubMed, EMBASE, and Web of Science databases through May 2018 for experimental and observational studies that explored the association of AITD with degenerative joint disease (DJD), osteoarthritis (OA), chronic widespread pain (CWP) and fibromyalgia syndrome (FMS), and seronegative inflammatory arthritis (IA). A total of 2132 articles were identified. After title and abstract screening and removal of duplicates, 66 articles were retrieved for full text review. Eighteen studies were deemed eligible for inclusion. Six observational studies reported up to 45% prevalence of DJD in AITD. Hand and spinal DJD were reportedly associated with higher odds of AITD. Twelve observational studies were retrieved reporting up to 62% prevalence of FMS in AITD patients. Four studies described the occurrence of seronegative IA in AITD patients. The rheumatic associations of AITD may manifest specific patterns of disease distinct from those of other well-defined autoimmune syndromes and contribute significantly to disease burden.