Goitre in southern Chinese children in Hong Kong

In a 9-year retrospective review of goitre in Chinese children in Hong Kong, 84 children and adolescents were identified. There was a female predominance with a male:female ratio of 1:5.5. The majority of patients (95%) were found to have diffuse enlargement of the thyroid gland. Forty-nine were found to have Graves' disease. The mean age of presentation of patients with Graves' disease was 11.34 years. Forty-three of them were found to have thyroid autoantibodies. Only two cases of autoimmune thyroiditis with thyroid autoantibodies were diagnosed. The other causes of goitre include simple colloid goitre, multinodular goitre and suppurative thyroiditis. The spectrum of disease causing goitre in Chinese children is thus quite different from that reported in Caucasian children in developed countries. Further studies are necessary to define the genetic or environmental factors resulting in the observed differences.