Introduction: Thyroid diseases are common in the general population, with autoimmune disorders and iodine deficiency being the most frequent causes [1,2,5,6,7,8]. Measurement of thyroid autoantibodies can assist in the diagnosis, prognosis, and monitoring of treatment in thyroid diseases [3]. To investigate the autoimmune status of thyroid disorders, we conducted a study entitled “Survey of serum levels of thyroid autoantibodies TGAb, TPOAb, and TRAb in patients with hyperthyroidism, hypothyroidism, and malignant thyroid tumors.”
Aim: To determine the serum concentrations of thyroid autoantibodies TGAb, TPOAb, and TRAb in selected thyroid diseases (hyperthyroidism, hypothyroidism, and malignant thyroid tumors).
Subjects and Methods: The study included 235 patients aged ≥17 years, divided into two groups: Group 1 (disease group): Patients diagnosed with hyperthyroidism, hypothyroidism, and malignant thyroid tumors (N = 174). Group 2 (control group): Patients with other thyroid disorders such as thyroiditis and thyroid enlargement (N = 61). All patients were examined and treated at Le Van Thinh Hospital, Ho Chi Minh City. Study design: Cross-sectional descriptive study. Serum concentrations of TGAb, TPOAb, and TRAb were measured using the Cobas e 402 immunoassay analyzer (Roche Diagnostics).
Results: The 30–<50 year age group was the most prevalent in both the control and disease groups (p = 0.015). Females accounted for the majority of patients (80.5%).
The median levels of thyroid autoantibodies in both the control and disease groups were markedly elevated. Median concentrations of TGAb, TPOAb, and TRAb in the disease group were 18.90 IU/mL, 127.30 IU/mL, and 2.14 IU/mL, respectively, compared with 17.80 IU/mL, 11.83 IU/mL, and 1.32 IU/mL in the control group (p = 0.259 for TGAb, p = 0.003 for TPOAb, and p = 0.035 for TRAb).
There were also differences in abnormal antibody levels between the disease and control groups. TPOAb levels were also significantly higher (p = 0.006). Similar findings were observed for TRAb levels, although the difference was not statistically significant (p = 0.618).
Differences in thyroid autoantibody levels were also observed among different thyroid disease types (hyperthyroidism, hypothyroidism, and malignant thyroid tumors) compared with the control group. Statistically significant differences were found for TPOAb (p = 0.008), whereas TRAb did not show statistical significance (p = 0.867).
Conclusion: Differences in mean age were observed among thyroid disease groups, with the 30–<50 year age group being the most common (p = 0.015). Females accounted for the majority of cases (approximately 80.5%). Compared with normal reference values in healthy individuals, both the control and disease groups showed abnormally elevated levels of thyroid autoantibodies, with higher levels observed in the disease group. Differences in the concentrations of TPOAb (p=0,008), and TRAb (p=0,867) were observed among different thyroid disease types.