Incidence of Viral Hepatitis in Patients with Hashimoto's Thyroiditis

Objective: During interferon-alpha treatment of mainly chronic viral hepatitis C (HCV), the incidence of autoimmune thyroiditis increases. However, in some studies, autoimmune thyroiditis could be found together with viral hepatitis independently from interferon-alpha treatment. In our study, we investigated the concomitance of Hashimoto thyroiditis with hepatitis B (HBV) and/or HCV infections. Methods: A total of 259 newly diagnosed patients with Hashimoto's thyroiditis, comprising 228 woman and 31 men, were included in our study. The simultaneously analyzed thyroid auto-antibodies and viral hepatitis markers were scanned retrospectively from our LIS (Laboratory Information System) archive. Results: Our data have shown only 1 patient was an HBV carrier without active hepatitis; 28 patients were observed to be immunized with HBV, and all patients were found to be HCV (-). Conclusion: We did not find any concomitance of active viral hepatitis in patients with Hashimoto's thyroiditis. Many studies have shown that environmental factors trigger thyroid autoimmunity in individuals with a genetic predisposition. Investigation of the genetic predisposition of our patients could clarify the role of viral hepatitis in the etiology of Hashimoto's thyroiditis.