Abstract
Introduction: Systemic sclerosis (SSc) is a multisystemic disease. Thyroid involvement in systemic sclerosis is an overlooked issue. Our study aimed to evaluate the decreased thyroid volume in SSc. Also, we aimed to show the relationship between patients' thyroid volume and clinical and laboratory parameters.Method: This was a single-center, cross-sectional study. Eighty-six patients were included in the study. A radiologist evaluated patients' thyroid volumes by ultrasonography. Demographic and clinical characteristics of the patients were recorded. Skin thickness was evaluated by the modified Rodnan skin score (mRSS) and the disease severity by the Medsger severity score (MSS). Findings were analyzed statistically.Results: Thyroid volume was in the atrophic range in 53.5% of the patients. There was a significant negative correlation between thyroid volume and mRSS, MSS, and disease duration. Logistic regression analysis showed that mRSS and disease duration were risk factors for thyroid atrophy.Conclusions: Many studies point out that thyroid autoantibodies are a cause of thyroid dysfunction in patients with SSc. However, in most of these studies, thyroid volume was not evaluated. As a result of our study, we saw that the major cause of thyroid dysfunction in our SSc patients was thyroid atrophy. Also, we observed that thyroid atrophy was more common in patients with interstitial lung disease. We would like to draw attention to the fact that thyroid dysfunction and volume changes increase with the disease's duration and severity in systemic sclerosis.
Highlights
Systemic sclerosis (SSc) is a multisystemic disease
Thyroid volume was in the atrophic range in 53.5% of the patients
As a result of our study, we saw that the major cause of thyroid dysfunction in our SSc patients was thyroid atrophy
Summary
Systemic sclerosis (SSc) is a multisystemic disease. Our study aimed to evaluate the decreased thyroid volume in SSc. we aimed to show the relationship between patients' thyroid volume and clinical and laboratory parameters. Systemic sclerosis (SSc) is a heterogeneous disease that may involve various organs and which may course with varying disease severity. Still it has been reported that thyroid dysfunction is encountered more frequently in SSc patients than in the general population [1]. Thyroid involvement frequently ends up with subclinical or clinical hypothyroidism, and may lead to conditions like cardiac dysfunction, atherosclerosis, myopathy, dysphagia, constipation, and certain psychological disorders. Thyroid dysfunction can aggravate SSc-related clinical symptomatology. It is of utmost importance to not neglect the evaluation of the thyroid gland during the diagnosis and follow-up of SSc patients [2]. Lymphocytic infiltration, autoimmune catastrophe, and fibrosis of the thyroid gland, have all been blamed for the development of thyroid gland dysfunction due to SSc [1]
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