Detection and significance of serum thyroid hormones and interleukin-6 in silicosis patients

[Objective]To study the changes of thyroid hormone and interleukin-6 level in serum of patients with silicosis and its correlation.[Methods]A total of 48 cases of silicosis patients were detected by radioimmunoassay for serum total three triiodothyronine(TT3),serum total thyroxine(TT4) thyroid-stimulating hormone(TSH) and enzyme linked immunosorbent assay for serum interleukin-6 level(IL-6),and 25 cases with no disease and health examination as control group.[Results] The TT-3,TT-4 in serum of patients with silicosis were significantly lower than those of control group(P0.01),serum TSH was higher than that of control group,without significant difference(P0.05).The serum TT-3,TT-4 of patients with silicosis stage II were higher than those of patients with silicosis stage I,with significant difference(P0.05).The serum TT-3,TT-4 of patients with silicosis stage III were lower than those of patients with silicosis stage I,with significant difference(P0.01),while the IL-6 was significantly higher than that of control group(P0.01).The serum level of IL-6 was increased with rising stage of silicosis,but the difference was not significant.TT-3,TT-4levels were negatively correlated with the level of IL-6(P0.01).[Conclusion] Serum TT-3,TT-4 and IL-6 levels reflect the severity of illness in patients with silicosis,detection of serum TT-3,TT-4 and IL-6 concentration had significance on the judgment of severity and prognosis.