Abstract
Introduction: The interrelationship between autoimmune thyroiditis, benign nodular thyroid disease and plasma adipokines levels remains elusive. We aimed to compare the levels of adipokines in patients with autoimmune thyroiditis with and without benign nodular thyroid disease. Subjects and Methods: We recorded thyroid function tests, BMI, the levels of total cholesterol(TC), HDL, LDL-cholesterol, triglycerides(TG), apolipoprotein B(ApoB), ApoA1, lipoprotein(a)(Lp[a]), homocysteine, CRP(C-reactive protein), folic acid, vitamin B12 levels,adiponectin, resistin and plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1) in 98 patients with autoimmune thyroid disease, 75.9% woman, with a mean age of 46.7±15.3 years. An ultrasound scan of the thyroid gland was performed in all patients. Patients were divided according to thyroid function (euthyroidism, hypothyroidism or hyperthyroidism) and presence of benign nodular thyroid disease (unimodular goitre [UNG], multinodular goitre [MNG]). Results: Patients with hyperthyroidism showed higher levels of resistin comparing with those with hypothyroidism (28.3±14.7 vs 20.7±22.6 ng/ml, p<0.01), PAI-1 (27.3±25.1 vs 12.7±10.9 ng/ml, <0.01) and lower levels of adiponectin (21.0±13.3 vs 28.3±14.7 μg/ml, p<0.01). In both hypothyroidism and hyperthyroidism, adiponectin, resistin and PAI-1 were not correlated with BMI. Among patients with hypothyroidism, the group with MNG presented lower adiponectin levels than the group without nodules (12.9±6.3 vs 23.7±14.4 μg/ml, p<0.01). The group with UNG had significantly higher resistin levels than patients with MNG (34.2±40.18 vs 7.2±2.5 ng/ml, p<0.01). On the other hand, among patients with normal thyroid function, those with MNG presented significantly higher levels of resistin comparing with those with UNG (16.2±15.3 vs 8.0±7.8 ng/ml, p<0.05). Regarding the group with hyperthyroidism, patients with MNG had significantly higher levels of PAI-1 comparing with the group with UNG (30.2±27.4 vs 18.8±15.8 ng/ml, p<0.05). Conclusions: We found significant associations between benign nodular thyroid disease and adipokines levels among patients with AIT. This relationship seems to be modulated by thyroid function. Our results suggest that adipokines may have an important role in the pathogenesis of benign nodular thyroid disease among patients with AIT.