ABSTRACT
UNLABELLED: Graves' disease (GD) is an autoimmune thyroid disease with complex and not fully established etiology. It occurs when environmental factors influence people genetically prone to this illness. The aim of this study was to determine the impact of selected factors (endogenous and environmental) on the course and complications of disease in patients with recurrent GD. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Two hundred and four patients with relapsed GD, treated in the Clinical Department of Endocrinology in University Hospital in Cracow in years 2004-2006 and then in 2011 were retrospectively analyzed. Patients who agreed to participate in the study were sent questionnaire to complete. Demographic and clinical data were collected and entered into a database. Patient data included: gender, place of living, lifestyle (smoking), family history of autoimmune diseases, the course of the disease, its symptoms and the treatment strategy. Furthermore the medical documentation was analyzed. Descriptive statistical analyses were made. RESULTS: The study showed a significant difference in the frequency of appearance of ophthalmopathy between men and women (80% and 37.14%, respectively, p = 0.041), between smokers and nonsmokers (61.9% and 21.05%, respectively, p = 0.022) and between the age of patients with positive and negative family history of autoimmune diseases (37.6 years and 50.5 years respectively, p = 0.002). CONCLUSIONS: 1. Male gender is a risk factor for ophthalmopathy in GD. 2. Cigarette smoking affects the risk of Graves' ophthalmopathy. 3. A positive family history of thyroid diseases and/or autoimmune diseases promotes the development of GD at a younger age.
