Introduction: Chronic urticaria results from multiple interactive causes. For certain authors dythyroidism is significantly more frequent in patients with chronic urticaria, often associated with other autoimmune disorders.
Patients and methods: This study included 45 patients with chronic urticaria (29 men and 16 women, mean age 45.6 years). All underwent clinical examination for thyroid disease with assay of free T3 and T4, ultrasensitive TSH and antimicrosome and antithyroperoxidase antithyroid antibodies.
Results: Among the 45 patients, 8, all women, had an autoimmune thyroid disease: Graves' disease (n = 1), juvenile chronic thyroiditis (n = 1), autoimmune disease n = 6). All had goiter but most had no clinical sign suggestive of hypothyroidism or hyperthyroidism. Other clinical features or laboratory findings suggested autoimmune disorders in 3.
Discussion: These results suggest that a complete thyroid examination with hormone assay, especially in women, should be performed in patients with chronic urticaria. TSH and antiperoxidase antibodies appear to be the most sensitive and specific assays in patients with autoimmune thyroid disease.