RESUMO
Objective To explore the correlation between anti-thyroid autoantibodies and hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection. Methods Four hundred and sixty-two samples with positive thyroid peroxidase antibody (TPOAb) and (or) thyroglobulin antibody (TgAb) were collected. Three hundred and eighty age and gender matched subjects with negative TPOAb and TgAb were selected as controls. The anti-HCV antibody was examined in all the cases using the third-generation enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), HCV RNA qualitative examination was examined further in those who had positive anti-HCV antibody. Meanwhile, 195 subjects with hepatitis C, 150 healthy subjects and 150 subjects with hepatitis B were tested for thyroid-related markers. The data were analyzed by independent-sample t test and chi square test. Results The HCV infection rate in 462 thyroid autoantibodies positive subjects was 1.30% and 0.53% in 380 thyroid autoantibodies negative subjects. There was no significant difference of the HCV infection rate between two groups (X2=1.322, P>0.05). In the subjects with hepatitis C, 30.8% were TPOAb positive, 30.8% were TgAb positive, which were significantly different from those of healthy subjects and subjects with hepatitis B (X2=21.496,X2=30.454;P<0.01). Conclusions HCV infection rate does not increase in subjects with abnormal thyroid autoimmunity. However, positive rate of thyroid autoantibodies increases in subjects with hepatitis C, which suggests that thyroid-related markers should be examined in hepatitis C patients.