Does hepatitis C-related autoimmune thyroiditis really exist? A controlledstudy in 58 patients

Purpose. - Interferon alpha treatment for vints C hepatitis may be responsi ble for autoimmune thyroiditis. Relationships between thyroiditis and virus C infection are still debated The aim of this study was to evaluate the ex istence of this association. Methods. - The prevalence of autoimmune thyroidits in 58 patients (35 male and 23 female patients, mean age 52.6) with untreated virus C hepatitis was compared to that of 56 alcoholic patients (41 male and 15 female patients, mean age 53.8). Autoimmune thyroiditis was defined as the association of a bnormal TSH and an increase in antithyroid antibodies. Results. - We did not find any statistical difference in either autoimmune thyroiditis or antithyroid antibodies prevalences. Conclusion. - Both our results and a literature review suggest that the few reported cases of related autoimmune thyroiditis and virus C infection are probably coincidental (C) 1999 Elsevier, Paris.