The prevalence of autoimmune thyroiditis in autoimmune liver diseases

Aim: Our study aimed to determine the frequency of autoimmune thyroiditis in patients diagnosed with autoimmune liver disease and to investigate the impact of coexistence of autoimmune thyroiditis on the clinical course and treatment response of autoimmune liver disease Material and Method: A total of 126 patients diagnosed with autoimmune liver disease were identified at the Gastroenterology outpatient clinic of Istanbul University- Cerrahpasa, Cerrahpasa Faculty of Medicine, during the period from 2000 to 2023. Patient records were retrospectively reviewed. 16 patients were excluded from the study due to insufficient data. A total of 110 patients were included in the study. Results: In the research group, extrahepatic autoimmune disease was detected in 50 out of 110 patients (45.5%). It was found that autoimmune thyroiditis was the most common accompanying extrahepatic autoimmune disease, observed in 26.4% of the patients. In the group with accompanying autoimmune thyroiditis, no significant differences were observed in terms of gender, age, biochemical parameters, autoantibody positivity, disease course, and response to treatment. Conclusion: Our study confirmed a strong association between autoimmune liver disease and extrahepatic autoimmune disorders. It was determined that the most commonly occurring concurrent extrahepatic autoimmune disease is autoimmune thyroid disease. Therefore, it seems reasonable to routinely screen patients diagnosed with autoimmune liver disease for autoimmune thyroid disease. It was determined that the presence of concomitant autoimmune thyroid disease had no impact on the course and treatment response of autoimmune liver disease. Keywords: Autoimmune liver disease, Hashimoto's thyroiditis, frequency, prognosis