Table 2.
Prevalence of antibodies against thyroid peroxidase (TPO-Ab) and against virulence-associated YOPs of Yersinia enterocolitica (YOP IgG-Ab and YOP IgA-Ab) in sera of 803 female relatives of patients with autoimmune thyroid disease (AITD) and 100 healthy female controls
| n | Age | TPO-Ab | YOP IgG-Ab | YOP IgA-Ab | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Controls | 100 | 44 ± 15 | 10 (10%) | 24 (24%) | 13 (13%) |
| AITD relatives | 803 | 36 ± 12 | 216 (27%)‡ | 322 (40·1%)* | 176 (22%**) |
| AITD relatives | |||||
| Hypothyroid | 29 | 43 ± 12 | 25 (86%) | 10 (34·5%) | 7 (24·1%) |
| Euthyroid | 759 | 36 ± 12 | 183 (24%)‡ | 305 (40·2%)* | 165 (21·7%)** |
| Hyperthyroid | 15 | 44 ± 10 | 8 (53%) | 7 (46·7%) | 4 (26·7%) |
‡
P <0·001,
*
P = 0·002,
**
P < 0·05 vs. controls.