Association between Ménière's disease and thyroid diseases: a nested case-control study.

Area of Science:

• Otolaryngology
• Endocrinology
• Autoimmune Diseases

Background:

• Ménière's disease is a complex inner ear disorder.
• Thyroid diseases are common and often autoimmune in nature.
• A potential autoimmune link between thyroid and Ménière's disease warrants investigation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the association between various thyroid disorders and Ménière's disease.
• To explore specific thyroid conditions including goiter, hypothyroidism, thyroiditis, hyperthyroidism, and autoimmune thyroiditis.

Main Methods:

• Utilized Korean National Health Insurance Service-Health Screening Cohort data (2002-2015).
• Matched 8183 Ménière's disease patients with 32,732 controls.
• Employed conditional logistic regression, adjusting for multiple confounding factors.

Main Results:

• Higher prevalence of goiter, hypothyroidism, thyroiditis, hyperthyroidism, and autoimmune thyroiditis in Ménière's disease patients.
• Significant associations found between goiter, hypothyroidism, and hyperthyroidism with Ménière's disease.
• Subgroup analyses revealed hypothyroidism linked to Ménière's in younger women, and hyperthyroidism in women overall.

Conclusions:

• Thyroid diseases, specifically goiter, hypothyroidism, and hyperthyroidism, are associated with an increased risk of Ménière's disease.
• Findings support a potential shared pathophysiology, possibly autoimmune, between certain thyroid conditions and Ménière's disease.
• Further research is recommended to elucidate the underlying mechanisms connecting these conditions.