ABSTRACT
Thyroid autoantibodies and thyroid function were studied in 175 patients with rheumatoid arthritis (ARA criteria, 1987). The study included 149 women and 26 men aged (54.7 +/- 13.1) all treated in the Clinic of Rheumatology, Higher Medical Institute, Plovdiv. A control group comprising 72 healthy subjects (aged 51.2 +/- 3.2) was used. Rheumatoid factor (RF) (latex agglutination test and Waaler-Rose test), antithyroglobulin (TAT) and antimicrosomal antibodies (MAT), thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) and the free fraction of thyroxine (FT4) were measured. 69.7% of all patients tested positive for RF by the latex test and 64.5% by the Waaler-Rose test. TAT was found in 55 (31.4%), MAT in 26 (14.8%) from all the examined, which is significantly greater in comparison with the controls (p < 0.05). The thyroid gland was in a euthyroid state in most of the RA patients although MAT and/or TAT were detected in them. The results suggest existence of two autoimmune diseases - rheumatoid arthritis and Hashimoto's thyroiditis and raise the question of whether they are not manifestations of a single autoimmune disease with different body organ localisation.
