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High prevalence of autoimmune thyroiditis in patients with polycystic ovary syndrome.

AbstractOBJECTIVE:
To investigate the prevalence of autoimmune thyroiditis (AIT) in patients with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS).
DESIGN:
Over a period of 30 months, 175 patients with PCOS were recruited to a prospective multicenter study to evaluate thyroid function and morphology; 168 age-matched women without PCOS were studied as a control group.
METHODS:
PCOS was defined as a- or oligomenorrhea, hyperandrogenism and exclusion of other disturbances of estrogen or androgen synthesis. All laboratory parameters were determined with automated immunoassays. Thyroid morphology was assessed by ultrasound.
RESULTS:
PCOS patients were characterized by an increased LH/FSH ratio, low progesterone, elevated testosterone and a high prevalence of hirsutism (PCOS 83%, control 3%; mean hirsutism score 12+/-5 and 3+/-2 respectively), but no differences in estrogen levels were found. Thyroid function and thyroid-specific antibody tests revealed elevated thyroperoxidase (TPO) or thyroglobulin (TG) antibodies in 14 of 168 controls (8.3%), and in 47 of 175 patients with PCOS (26.9%; P<0.001). On thyroid ultrasound, 42.3% of PCOS patients, but only 6.5% of the controls (P<0.001) had a hypoechoic tissue typical of AIT; while thyroid hormone levels were normal in all subjects, PCOS patients had a higher mean TSH level (P<0.001) and a higher incidence of TSH levels above the upper limit of normal (PCOS 10.9%, controls 1.8%; P<0.001).
CONCLUSION:
This prospective study demonstrates a threefold higher prevalence of AIT in patients with PCOS, correlated in part with an increased estrogen-to-progesterone ratio and characterized by early manifestation of the disease.
AuthorsOnno E Janssen, Nadine Mehlmauer, Susanne Hahn, Alexandra H Offner, Roland Gärtner
JournalEuropean journal of endocrinology (Eur J Endocrinol) Vol. 150 Issue 3 Pg. 363-9 (Mar 2004) ISSN: 0804-4643 [Print] England
PMID15012623 (Publication Type: Journal Article, Multicenter Study)
Chemical References
  • Blood Glucose
  • Insulin
  • Thyroid Hormones
  • Testosterone
  • Progesterone
  • Estradiol
  • Luteinizing Hormone
  • Follicle Stimulating Hormone
  • Thyrotropin
  • Thyroglobulin
Topics
  • Adult
  • Blood Glucose (metabolism)
  • Estradiol (blood)
  • Female
  • Follicle Stimulating Hormone (blood)
  • Humans
  • Insulin (blood)
  • Luteinizing Hormone (blood)
  • Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (blood, complications)
  • Progesterone (blood)
  • Prospective Studies
  • Testosterone (blood)
  • Thyroglobulin (metabolism)
  • Thyroid Hormones (blood)
  • Thyroiditis, Autoimmune (blood, complications, diagnostic imaging)
  • Thyrotropin (blood)
  • Ultrasonography

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