OBJECTIVE: 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.
OBJECTIVE: 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:PCOSpatients 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 PCOSpatients, 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, PCOSpatients 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.
Authors: Tim I M Korevaar; Lidia Mínguez-Alarcón; Carmen Messerlian; Ralph A de Poortere; Paige L Williams; Maarten A Broeren; Russ Hauser; Irene C Souter Journal: Thyroid Date: 2018-08-14 Impact factor: 6.568
Authors: Cherié L Butts; Eve Bowers; J Cash Horn; Shetha A Shukair; Elena Belyavskaya; Leonardo Tonelli; Esther M Sternberg Journal: Gend Med Date: 2008-12
Authors: David Unuane; Brigitte Velkeniers; Ellen Anckaert; Johan Schiettecatte; Herman Tournaye; Patrick Haentjens; Kris Poppe Journal: Thyroid Date: 2013-08 Impact factor: 6.568