Abstract
We determined the frequency of thyroid autoantibodies in fibromyalgia (FM) patients and the relationship between FM symptoms and these antibodies. Euthyroid 128 FM patients, 64 rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients, and 64 healthy control subjects were included in the study. The sociodemographic features and the clinical features of FM patients were determined. By using a visual analog scale, patients were questioned about the severity of FM-related symptoms. All patients were administered with Duke-Anxiety Depression (Duke-AD) scale, the physical function items of the fibromyalgia impact questionnaire scale. Thyroid autoimmunity was defined as the presence of detectable antithyroglobulin (TgAb) and/or antithyroid peroxidase (TPOAb) antibodies by the immunometric methods. Patients with a connective tissue disorder, hypo- or hyperthyroidism, and patients who had psychiatric treatment within the last 6 months were not included into the study. The frequencies of thyroid autoimmunity in FM (34.4%) and RA (29.7%) patients were significantly higher than controls (18.8%) (p<0.05). Twenty-six (20.3%) FM patients had positive TgAb and 31 (24.2%) had positive TPOAb. When patients with thyroid autoimmunity were compared to others, it was seen that the mean age, the percentage of postmenopausal patients, the frequency of dryness of the mouth, and the percentage of patients with a previous psychiatric treatment were higher in this group (p<0.05). FM patients had thyroid autoimmunity similar to the frequency in RA and higher than controls. Age and postmenopausal status seemed to be associated with thyroid autoimmunity in FM patients. The presence of thyroid autoimmunity had no relationship with the depression scores of FM patients.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Neeck G, Riedel W (1992) Thyroid function in patients with fibromyalgia syndrome. J Rheumatol 19:1120–1122
Garrison RL, Breeding PC (2003) A metabolic basis for fibromyalgia and its related disorders: the possible role of resistance to thyroid hormone. Med Hypotheses 61:182–189
Lowe JC, Eichelberger J, Manso G, Peterson K (1994) Improvement in euthyroid fibromyalgia patients treated with T3 (tri-iodothyronine). J Myofascial Ther 1:16–27
Pop VJ, Maartens LH, Leusink G et al (1998) Are autoimmune thyroid dysfunction and depression related? J Clin Endocrinol Metab 83:3194–3197
Ribeiro LS, Proietti FA (2004) Interrelations between fibromyalgia, thyroid autoantibodies, and depression. J Rheumatol 31:2036–2040
Punzi L, Betterle C (2004) Chronic autoimmune thyroiditis and rheumatic manifestations. Jt Bone Spine 71:275–283
Aarflot T, Bruusgaard D (1996) Association between chronic widespread musculoskeletal complaints and thyroid autoimmunity. Scand J Prim Health Care 14:111–115
Wolfe F, Smythe HA, Yunus MB et al (1990) The American College of Rheumatology 1990 criteria for the classification of fibromyalgia: report of the Multicenter Criteria Committee. Arthritis Rheum 33:160–172
Parkerson Gr Jr, Broadhead WE, Tse C-KJ (1996) Anxiety and depression symptom identification using the Duke Health Profile. J Clin Epidemiol 49:85–93
Burckhardt CS, Clark SR, Bennett RM (1991) The Fibromyalgia Impact Questionnaire: development and validation. J Rheumatol 18:728–733
Sarmer S, Ergin S, Yavuzer G (2000) The validity and reliability of the Turkish version of the Fibromyalgia Impact Questionnaire. Rheumatol Int 20:9–12
Punzi L, Sfriso P, Pianon M et al (2002) Clinical manifestations and outcome of polyarthralgia associated with chronic lymphocytic thyroiditis. Semin Arthritis Rheum 32:51–55
Naranjo A, Ojeda S, Francisco F, Erausquin C, Rua-Figueroa I, Rodriguez-Lozano C (2002) Fibromyalgia in patients with rheumatoid arthritis is associated with higher scores of disability. Ann Rhem Dis 61:660–661
Aaron LA, Bradley LA, Alarcon GS et al (1996) Psychiatric diagnosis in patients with fibromyalgia are related to health care-seeking behavior rather than to illness. Arthritis Rheum 39:436–445
Nicol-Smith L (1996) Causality, menopause, and depression: a critical review of the literature. Br Med J 313:1229–1232
Harris B, Othman S, Davies JA et al (1992) Association between postpartum thyroid dysfunction and thyroid antibodies and depression. Br Med J 305:152–156
Changlai SP, Chen WK, Chung C, Chiou SM (2002) Objective evidence of decreased salivary function in patients with autoimmune thyroiditis (chronic thyroiditis, Hashimoto’s thyroiditis). Nucl Med Commun 23:1029–1033
Price EJ, Venables PJW (2002) Dry eyes and mouth syndrome—a subgroup of patients presenting with sicca symptoms. Rheumatology 41:416–422
Hagen K, Bjoro T, Zwart JA, Vatten L, Stovner LJ, Bovim G (2001) Low headache prevalence amongst women with high TSH values. Eur J Neurol 8:693–699
Marquez A, Finol HJ, De Blanco MC, Adjounian H, Pulido-Mendez M (2001) Skeletal muscle microvascular alterations in euthyroid and hypothyroid patients with autoimmune thyroid disease. J Submicrosc Cytol Pathol 33:425–432
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Pamuk, Ö.N., Çakir, N. The frequency of thyroid antibodies in fibromyalgia patients and their relationship with symptoms. Clin Rheumatol 26, 55–59 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10067-006-0237-y
Received:
Revised:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10067-006-0237-y