[Association of antigens of the HLA system and Hashimoto's thyroiditis]

A total of 18 patients with Hashimoto's thyroiditis aged 20 to 57 were examined (16 females and 2 males). The control group included 267 healthy donors. Antigens of A, B, C and D loci of the HLA system were determined in all the patients. HLA Dr3 was determined in 14 (77.8%) of 18 patients (p less than 0.01). The relative disease risk in carriers of this antigen was 12.6. At the same time a 6-fold decrease in the frequency of HLA Dr2 was found in the patients. The authors discussed the problem of the predisposing role of HLA Dr3 in the development of autoimmune diseases and of the "protective" properties of HLA Dr2.