Prevalence of thyroid autoantibodies in young asymptomatic females: A pilot study

Studies have shown that autoimmune thyroiditis is diagnosed increasingly in recent times, probably due to facilities available for estimating the thyroid autoantibodies. This is a pilot study to estimate the prevalence of thyroid autoantibodies in young females, without any known thyroid disease or on thyroid medications. A total of 125 women in the age group 15 to 35 years were selected at random. Besides history taking and physical examination, estimation of TSH and antibodies against thyroid peroxidase and thyroglobulin were done in all the subjects. In 112 subjects (89.6%), thyroid autoantibody positivity was seen-in 52% both antibodies, in 33.6% antithyroid peroxidase alone, and in 4% antithyroglobulin alone were positive. A statistically significant association was found between thyroid autoantibodies and thyromegaly. All subjects with family history of thyroid disorders in their first degree relatives (18) had antibody positivity.