Abstract
In this study, we aimed to describe the prevalence and distribution of positive antithyroperoxidase antibodies (TPOAb) according to sex, age strata, and presence of thyroid dysfunction using baseline data from the Brazilian Longitudinal Study of Adult Health (ELSA-Brasil). Thyroid hormone tests were obtained from each study participant at baseline. Levels of thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) and free thyroxine (FT4) were measured using a third-generation immunoenzymatic assay. Antithyroperoxidase antibodies were measured by electrochemiluminescence and were considered to be positive when ≥ 34 IU/mL. The prevalence of TPOAb among 13,503 study participants was 12%. Of participants with positive TPOAb, 69% were women. Almost 60% of the individuals with positive TPOAb were white. The presence of positive TPOAb was associated with the entire spectrum of thyroid diseases among women, but only with overt hyperthyroidism and overt hypothyroidism in men. The distribution of positive TPOAb across sex, race, age, and thyroid function in the ELSA-Brasil study is aligned with the worldwide prevalence of positive TPOAb reported in iodine-sufficient areas. In women, the presence of TPOAb was related to the entire spectrum of thyroid dysfunction, while in men, it was only related to the occurrence of overt thyroid disease.
Highlights
Thyroid dysfunction is emerging as one of the most common diseases in developed countries [1,2,3,4,5]
Autoimmune thyroid disease has emerged as the main cause of thyroid dysfunction after the frequency of goiter caused by iodine deficiency decreased following compulsory salt iodination in developing countries [13,14,15,16]
Body mass index (BMI) was slightly higher in the group with positive the presence of serum antithyroperoxidase antibodies (TPOAb) (p = 0.02), whereas waist circumference was slightly higher in the group with negative TPOAb (p = 0.04)
Summary
Thyroid dysfunction is emerging as one of the most common diseases in developed countries [1,2,3,4,5]. Autoimmune thyroid disease has emerged as the main cause of thyroid dysfunction after the frequency of goiter caused by iodine deficiency decreased following compulsory salt iodination in developing countries [13,14,15,16]. The most common conditions associated with thyroid dysfunction are overt and subclinical hypothyroidism [10,17,18,19] due to autoimmune Hashimoto’s thyroiditis [20,21,22]. The presence of serum antithyroperoxidase antibodies (TPOAb) is the main diagnostic element of this condition [23,24,25]
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