Effects of Thyroid Autoimmunity on Early Atherosclerosis in Euthyroid Girls with Hashimoto's Thyroiditis

Abstract

Objective: In the current study, we aimed to investigate whether thyroid autoimmunity (TA) had any effect on carotid intima-media thickness (cIMT) and enhanced the risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) independent of thyroid function (TF) in pubertal girls with Hashimoto's thyroiditis (HT). Methods: Sixty-six newly diagnosed euthyroid girls with HT with a mean age of 14.4±2.4 years were included in the study. The control group consisted of 41 age- and body mass index (BMI)-matched healthy girls. At enrollment, all subjects underwent physical examination including blood pressure, standing height, weight, waist circumference (WC), and hip circumference measurements. The lipid profile, highsensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP), homocysteine, blood glucose, insulin, TF, and thyroid antibodies were measured, and thyroid ultrasound and cIMT were performed. Results: There were no significant differences in anthropometric variables between the two groups, but the patients with HT had significantly higher waist-to-hip ratio (WHR). Thyroid hormones, insulin, homocysteine, and homeostatic model assessment-insulin resistance were not different between the two groups. Serum hs-CRP levels were significantly higher in patients than controls (3.4 ng/mL vs. 2.03 ng/mL), (p