Frequency of serological markers of rheumatoid arthritis in patients with Hashimoto's thyroiditis

Mariam Ghozzi; Amani Mankai; Sarra Melayah; Fatma Mechi; Zeineb Chedly; Abdelhalim Trabelsi; Ibtissem Ghedira

doi:10.1093/labmed/lmad100

Frequency of serological markers of rheumatoid arthritis in patients with Hashimoto's thyroiditis

Lab Med. 2023 Nov 30:lmad100. doi: 10.1093/labmed/lmad100. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Mariam Ghozzi^{1

2

3}, Amani Mankai^{4

5}, Sarra Melayah^{1

2

6}, Fatma Mechi², Zeineb Chedly², Abdelhalim Trabelsi^{3

7}, Ibtissem Ghedira^{1

2}

Affiliations

¹ Laboratory of Immunology, Farhat Hached University Hospital, Sousse, Tunisia.
² Faculty of Pharmacy, Department of Immunology, University of Monastir, Monastir, Tunisia.
³ Research Laboratory for Epidemiology and Immunogenetics of Viral Infections (LR14SP02), Sahloul University Hospital, University of Sousse, Sousse, Tunisia.
⁴ High School of Sciences and Techniques of Health, Tunis El Manar University, Tunis, Tunisia.
⁵ Research Unit Obesity: Etiopathology and Treatment, UR18ES01, National Institute of Nutrition and Food Technology, Tunis, Tunisia.
⁶ Research Laboratory LR12SP11, Department of Biochemistry, Sahloul University Hospital, Sousse, Tunisia.
⁷ Laboratory of Microbiology and Virology, Sahloul University Hospital, University of Sousse, Sousse, Tunisia.

PMID: 38035768
DOI: 10.1093/labmed/lmad100

Abstract

Background: Hashimoto's thyroiditis (HT) is an autoimmune disease that is frequently associated with other autoimmune conditions.

Objective: To perform serological screening for rheumatoid arthritis (RA) in patients with HT.

Methods: Our study included 88 consecutive serum specimens of patients with confirmed HT and 88 sex- and age-matched healthy subjects. All study participants were tested for anti-cyclic citrullinated peptides antibodies (CCP-Ab) and rheumatoid factor (RF). CCP-Ab and RF were performed using ELISA commercial kits. Statistical analysis was conducted using Epi Info, version 3.

Results: Out of 88 patients with HT, 15 (17.0%) had CCP-Ab or RF. The frequency of serological markers of RA was significantly higher in patients than in control individuals (17.0% vs 4.5%; P = .007). RF was more frequent in patients than in the control group, and the difference was statistically significant (13.6% vs 3.4%; P = .01). Isolated RF-IgM was absent in all controls and present in 6 patients with HT (6.8% vs 0%; P = .02). Out of 14 male patients, 3 (21.4%) had antibodies of RA. There was no significant difference in age between patients with CCP-Ab or RF and those without.

Conclusion: A high frequency of serological markers of RA was highlighted in patients with HT.

Keywords: Hashimoto’s thyroiditis; Tunisia; adults; anti-cyclic citrullinated peptides antibodies; rheumatoid arthritis; rheumatoid factor.