PhD Scientific Days 2025

Conservative Medicine II.

Has the Prevalence of Thyroid Autoimmunity Increased During the COVID-19 Pandemic?

Előadó neve

Dr. Herczeg Vivien

Neptun code

AT8CV8

Előadó munkahelye

Semmelweis University, Pediatric Center, Bókay Street Division

Előadó telefonszáma

+36706289410

Előadó e-mail címe

herczegvivien11@gmail.com

Az előadás címe

Has the Prevalence of Thyroid Autoimmunity Increased During the COVID-19 Pandemic?

Szerző(k) neve és munkahelye

Vivien Herczeg¹, Eszter Muzslay¹, Diána Czipó², Lili Terkovics², Réka Garai¹, Fanni Kovács¹, Andrea Luczay¹, Péter Tóth-Heyn¹

1: Semmelweis University, Pediatric Center, Bókay Street Division
2: Semmelweis University, Faculty of Medicine

Bemutatás módja

Szóbeli

Szekció

Conservative Medicine II.

Language of the presentation

Hungarian

Preferred session

Conservative Medicine

Összefoglaló szövege

Introduction: Studies examining the long-term changes in the prevalence of autoimmune thyroiditis (AIT) in children are lacking. During the COVID-19 pandemic, some publications reported an increase in the number of AIT cases.
Aims: The aim of our study was to analyze the prevalence of thyroid autoimmunity (TA) over a 10-year period, covering both the years before and after the start of the pandemic. Given that children with type 1 diabetes (T1D) are routinely screened for AIT, our research was conducted using their data.
Methods: In our retrospective cohort study, we included 1,361 children (< 21 years) with T1D who were under the care of the Bókay Street Division of the Pediatric Center between 2013 and 2022. We analyzed thyroid autoantibody levels (anti-thyroid peroxidase /ATPO/ and anti-thyroglobulin /ATG/), thyroid function markers and ultrasound (US) findings. We determined the annual prevalence of TA and AIT for the periods before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. The mean (± SD) follow-up duration for the children was 4.7 (± 2.8) years.
Results: The overall prevalence of TA among T1D children was 22.8% ([20.3; 25.5], 310 cases), with a significantly higher proportion of affected girls (p<0.001). Between 2013 and 2022, the prevalence increased from 15.9% to 20.6% (p=0.041). This increase was observed in the years preceding the pandemic, while the prevalence remained stable during the COVID-19 era. Thyroiditis confirmed by US was detected in 80.0% of the examined TA cases. The rate of US positivity remained stable over the study period. Among children with TA, 28.5% had clinically relevant thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) abnormalities (most frequently subclinical hypothyroidism) and/or required medication (hormone replacement or antithyroid drugs). Children diagnosed with AIT had a significantly higher risk of thyroid function abnormalities compared to those who were only positive for thyroid autoantibodies without US positivity (p<0.001).
Conclusion: Our findings indicate that the prevalence of AIT among children with T1D has increased over the past 10 years. However, our data do not indicate a direct role for SARS-CoV-2 in the onset of the disease.
Funding: This work was supported by the EKÖP-2024-144 New National Excellence Program of the Ministry of Culture and Innovation from the source of the National Research, Development and Innovation Fund.

University

Semmelweis University

Supervisor

Péter Tóth-Heyn

Publication of my abstract

I give consent to the publication of my abstract on the website of the congress.

phd.section.field

in doctoral studies after complex exam (PhD)

Kind

Szabad

Status

elfogadva

Accepted presentation method

szóbeli

Előadás fájl jóváhagyás

jóváhagyta

Előadó

4899

Start

15:30

End

15:45