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Subject Area

Physical Medicine, Rheumatology and Rehabilitation

Article Type

Original Study

Abstract

Objectives To evaluate thyroid dysfunction prevalence and antithyroid antibody production including antithyroglobulin and thyroid peroxidase in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) patients with lupus nephritis and their relationship to SLE disease activity and progression. Background SLE is an autoimmune disorder in which the production of a variety of antibodies like anti-double-stranded DNA, antinuclear antibodies, anti-Ro antibodies, and others is associated with the organ-specific autoimmune thyroiditis. Patients and methods This cross-sectional study included 120 SLE patients divided into two groups: 60 SLE patients with nephritis and 60 SLE patients without nephritis. Clinical assessment includes assessment of disease activity by SLE disease activity (Systemic Lupus Erythematosus Disease Activity Index). Laboratory assessment of thyroid hormones and antithyroid antibody was done by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Results SLE patients with nephritis had significantly higher thyroid autoantibodies (antithyroglobulin and thyroid peroxidase) than SLE patients without nephritis (90 vs. 55%, 60 vs. 30%, and 65 vs. 30%, respectively). However the means of complement 3 and complement 4 were lower in SLE patients with nephritis than SLE patients without nephritis (51.8 ± 17.6 vs. 103.9 ± 24.8 and 8.8 ± 3.6 vs. 35.4 ± 23.5, respectively). Conclusions SLE patients with lupus nephritis had significantly higher thyroid autoantibodies than SLE patients without nephritis with significant positive correlations between these autoantibodies and SLE disease activity. Thyroid autoantibodies are important new and potential prognostic factors predicting poor outcomes in SLE patients with lupus nephritis. Further large-scale, multicenter, and prospective studies are needed to confirm these findings.

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