The authors conclude that ANA is the most frequent non-organ-specific antibody associated with ATD, while the other antibodies occur rarely. The prevalence of ATD in SLE and RA patients was 24%. These results indicate that it is clinically important to screen patients with SLE and RA for the coexistence of thyroid autoimmune disease.

Objective: To evaluate whether long-term exposure to heavy environmental pollution with polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) could result in impairment of thyroid status as evaluated by an epidemiological field survey. Methods: Thyroid volume (ThV) was measured by ultrasound in 238 employees of a factory (EMP) which previously produced PCBs and 454 adolescents from the surrounding area polluted by PCBs. Controls (C) were 572 adults and 965 adolescents from much less polluted areas. In the 238 EMP and various numbers (shown in parentheses) of adult C the levels of thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) (n ¼ 498), thyroxine (n ¼ 498), thyroglobulin (n ¼ 278) and thyroid antibodies (anti-peroxidase (TPO Ab), n ¼ 517; anti-thyroglobulin (Tg Ab), n ¼ 455; anti-TSH receptor (TSHR Ab), n ¼ 238) were estimated in serum, while only TSH and TPO Ab were measured in 269 and 171 adolescents from polluted and control areas respectively. In several subjects in whom thyroid disease was suspected, total tri-iodothyronine or free thyroxine and tri-iodothyronine were measured. In a total of 362 adults and adolescents the urinary iodine was estimated. Results: Using the Mann-Whitney test, ThV in EMP (mean Ϯ S.E. ¼ 18.85 Ϯ 0.69 ml, median ¼ 17.3 ml, upper quartile ¼ 22.9 ml, n ¼ 238) was significantly higher (P < 0.001) than that in C (13.47 Ϯ 0.48 ml, 11.5 ml, 15.3 ml, n ¼ 486 respectively). Similarly, ThV in adolescents from the polluted area (9.37 Ϯ 0.17 ml, 8.9 ml, 11.0 ml, n ¼ 454 respectively) was significantly higher (P < 0.001) than that in C (8.07 Ϯ 0.10 ml, 7.6 ml, 9.6 ml, n ¼ 965 respectively).In adults, a significantly increased prevalence of TPO Ab (P<0.05) was found (using the chi-square test) in EMP women of all ages (54/190) vs C women (70/282), in EMP women aged 31-50 years (40/117 vs 70/282 respectively) and those aged 41-50 years (28/77 vs 54/215 respectively). Compared with C, there was also a higher prevalence of Tg Ab in EMP women aged 31-60 years (36/169 vs 50/342 respectively) and of TSHR Ab (P < 0.001) in the group of EMP men and women (25/238) vs sex-and age-matched C (6/238).No difference between EMP and C was found in the level of thyroxine (mean Ϯ S.D. ¼ 116.1 Ϯ 31.2 nmol/l, n ¼ 238 vs 112.2 Ϯ 37.0 nmol/l, n ¼ 460 respectively), TSH in the range 0.1-4.5 mU/l (1.56 Ϯ 0.86 mU/l, n ¼ 219 vs 1.51 Ϯ 0.84 mU/l, n ¼ 460 respectively), prevalence of TSH >4.5 (14/238 vs 28/498 respectively) and <0.1 mU/l (5/238 vs 10/498 respectively). The prevalence of individuals without any defined clinical or laboratory signs of thyroid disorders among EMP who had worked in the factory for 21-35 years (43/128, 33.6%) was significantly lower than that in twice as many matched C (118/256, 46.1%, P < 0.025) or in EMP who had worked for only 11-20 years (36/73, 49.3%, P < 0.05).In adolescents, no difference was found in the prevalence of TPO Ab or TSH >4.5 mU/l between the polluted (17/269, 6.3% and 2/243, 0.8% respectively) and C areas (15/171, 8.5% and 4/140, 2.8% respectively). The median values of urinary iodine were in the op...

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The purpose of this work was to study the effects of high environmental exposure to polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and other organochlorines on the thyroid. Thyroid volume, hypoechogenicity and nodules (by ultrasound), presence of antithyroid peroxidase (anti-TPO) antibodies, and abnormal thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) levels in serum (by radioimmunoassay) were examined in 101 adults from the PCB-polluted area in 360 controls. Serum levels of PCBs, hexachlorobenzene, gamma-hexachlorocyclohexane (HCH), p,p'-DDT(1,1,1-trichloro-2,2'-bis(p-chlorophenyl)ethane), and p,p'-DDE(1,1-dichloro-2,2'-bis(p-chlorophenyl)ethene) were measured by high-resolution gas chromatography. Very high levels of PCBs were found in the polluted area (7300 +/- 871 ng/g lipids) compared with controls (2045 +/- 147 ng/g). Positive correlations (P < 0.001) were found between the levels of all organochlorines and their total except for hexachlorocyclohexane (HCH). In the polluted area, the highest thyroid volumes (18.7 +/- 2.32 mL; mean +/- SE) were clustered among 23 subjects (17 males and six females) with PCB levels above 10,000 ng/g (range 10,000-58,667 ng/g). In the remaining 438 subjects the thyroid volume was 14.2 +/- 0.29 mL. These data suggest that there might be a threshold serum PCB level of approximately 10,000 ng/g that may influence the thyroid volume. A two-way ANOVA showed that all thyroid volumes in the polluted area were significantly higher (P < 0.001) than in the control area. In males from the polluted area, the frequencies of thyroid hypoechogenicity, thyroid nodules, positive anti-TPO, and abnormal TSH level were higher than in males from the control area, whereas such differences were not observed in females. Increased thyroid volume and indicators of potential thyroid dysfunction were associated with long-term environmental exposure to PCBs. These effects on the thyroid were confined to subjects with PCB levels above 10,000 ng/g of lipid (thyroid volume) and to males from the polluted area (thyroid hypoechogenicity, thyroid nodules, positive anti-TPO, and abnormal TSH).