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Are sonographic characteristics of Hashimoto’s thyroiditis related with immunologic parameters? A cross-sectional study

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Abstract

Background

The clinical, laboratory, and imaging characteristics of Hashimoto’s thyroiditis are widely recognized. However, there is a dearth of information concerning the relationship between these aspects. The primary objective of this study was to investigate the correlation between sonographic features and immunologic parameters in individuals with Hashimoto’s thyroiditis.

Methods

This cross-sectional study enrolled a cohort of 100 consecutive patients diagnosed with Hashimoto’s thyroiditis. Ultrasonography was performed to classify thyroid gland characteristics, including parenchymal heterogeneity (mild/moderate-to-high), extent of fibrosis (none-to-mild/moderate-to-high), and volume (atrophic/non-atrophic). As for immunologic parameters, thyroid autoantibodies (TOA; anti-TPO and anti-Tg), along with IG (immunoglobulin) G4 levels and lymphocyte subsets, were assessed.

Results

Of the 100 patients evaluated, 88 were female (88%) and 12 were male (12%). IgG4/IgG ratio and weekly levothyroxine (LT4) dose were significantly higher in the group with moderate-to-high heterogeneity than the group with mild parenchymal heterogeneity (p = 0.043 and p < 0.001, respectively). Compared to the group with none-to-mild fibrosis, the anti-TPO, IgG4, IgG4/IgG ratio and LT4 dose were significantly higher in the moderate-to-high fibrosis group. Anti-TPO and IgG levels were significantly lower in the atrophic thyroid group compared to the non-atrophic thyroid group. Although not reaching statistical significance, the proportion of plasma cells in the moderate/high fibrosis group was higher than in the non-fibrosis/mild fibrosis group. There was a moderate positive correlation between fibrosis with Anti-TPO, and a low positive correlation between anti-Tg, IgG4 levels with IgG4/IgG ratio.

Conclusion

TOA, Ig G4 levels and severity of hypothyroidism were associated with ultrasonographic features such as parenchymal heterogeneity and fibrosis in Hashimoto’s thyroiditis.

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Data availability

The data are available on request from the authors.

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Acknowledgements

This study was presented at the 42nd Turkish Congress of Endocrinology and Metabolic Diseases as an oral presentation.

Funding

This research did not receive any specific grant from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Internal Medicine, Ankara University School of Medicine, Ankara, Turkey

    K. Kenarlı

  2. Department of Endocrinology and Metabolism, Ankara University School of Medicine, Ankara, Turkey

    A. B. Bahçecioğlu, Ö. B. Aksu & S. Güllü

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  1. K. Kenarlı
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  2. A. B. Bahçecioğlu
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  3. Ö. B. Aksu
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  4. S. Güllü
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Contributions

KK: design of the work, collecting data, analysis and interpretation of data, and article writing. ABB: collecting data, conception and design of the work, writing and revising the article. ÖBA: writing and revising the article. SG: conception and design of the work, analysis, and interpretation of data, and revising the article.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to A. B. Bahçecioğlu.

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Ethical approval has been obtained from the ethical committee for human studies of Ankara University (Project Number: 19-1297-18).

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Written informed consent was obtained from all the patients before inclusion.

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Kenarlı, K., Bahçecioğlu, A.B., Aksu, Ö.B. et al. Are sonographic characteristics of Hashimoto’s thyroiditis related with immunologic parameters? A cross-sectional study. J Endocrinol Invest (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40618-023-02286-y

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