Abstract
Fifteen patients with autoimmune thyroiditis (AIT) and 45 individuals without thyroid pathology comprising control group were examined for the Ca, Mg, Zn, Fe, I, Se, Cu, thyroid dose, and thyroid status in the biological samples (blood serum and urine). The AIT group was exposed to radioactive doses of radiation, which exceed 1 Gy, whereas participants in the control group were exposed to less than 0.3 Gy during Chernobyl disaster. The individuals mentioned above participated in the cohort of US-Ukrainian-Belorussian collaborative project, and their blood samples were obtained from the database. In the present study, thyroid gland sizes were examined using a real-time portable scanner (Terason 2000, Burlington, MA, USA) with linear transducer, and frequency of 10 MHz. Iodine concentration in urine samples was measured by Sandell-Kolthoff reaction with the Dunn`s modification. Thyroid hormones status was assessed by concentrations of: thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH), free thyroxine (FT4) and thyroglobulin (Tg) in serum by radioimmunoassay analysis. Concentration of thyroglobulin antibodies (TgAbs) and thyroxine peroxidase antibodies (TPOAb) were measured in serum by immunochemiluminescence assays. Significantly higher parameters of the thyroid gland volume (Tvol), thyroxine peroxidase antibodies (TPOAb), and thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) in blood serum were observed in the patients with AIT as compared to the control group. The median level of urinary iodine excretion urine (UIE) in the AIT group was significantly higher (p < 0.05) as compared to control group, which indicated the presence of mild iodine deficiency in the AIT group. Concentrations of calcium, magnesium, zinc, copper, iron, and selenium in serum were determined by atomic optical emission spectrometry coupled by inductively coupled plasma (ICP-OES, Perkin-Elmer, model Optima 2100, USA). In this study, patients with AIT had statistically significant (p < 0.001) lower level of Mg, Ca, Zn, and Cu in blood serum than in the control group. The relative risk (RR) of AIT development AIT low magnesium content in blood serum (p < 0.001) was RR = 5.4 (95 % CI 2.7–8.8), AIT low calcium content relative risk of AIT was 2.9 (95 % CI 1.8–3.6) (р < 0.001), and AIT low zinc content RR of AIT was found to be 2.3 (95 % CI 1.6–2.6) (р < 0.01).
Highlights
Essential trace elements play the important roles in the enzymatic processes regulation and thyroid hormones synthesis in thyroid glands
Thyroid gland volume measured by ultrasonography assay shown, that the mean size of thyroid gland in control group was within normal range (10.3 ± 0.5 ml, median 10.1 ml), while patients with Autoimmune thyroiditis (AIT) characterized by compaction of the thyroid gland parenchyma during palpation and overall changes of the ultrasound images
It should be noted that 28.8 % of individuals in the control group and only 6.3 % people suffering from AIT had urinary iodine excretion (UIE) greater than, 100 μg/L
Summary
A control group of 45 individuals (22 males and 23 females) with a mean age of 38.5 ± 0.8 yrs living in the same region had no history of autoimmune diseases prior to the investigations and characterized by TPOAb and TG antibodies (TgAbs) levels in blood serum within the reference ranges. Irradiation doses by 131I of thyroid glands were measured by experienced dosimetrists in the first two month just after Chernobyl disaster, by means of the transport model of 131I uptake by human organism from environment and interview data [5–6]. These parameters were obtained from the database of the project mentioned above. The p values less than 0.05 were considered statistically signi ficant
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