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The incidence of lymphocytic thyroid infiltration and Hashimoto's thyroiditis increased in patients operated for benign goiter over a 31-year period

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Abstract

The incidence of Hashimoto's thyroiditis (HT) seems to have increased over the last several decades. Since there is a lack of recent studies in the literature that evaluate this phenomenon on a histological basis, we aimed to assess the incidence of lymphocytic thyroid infiltration (LTI) in our large surgical patient collective over a 31-year period. In our study, a total of 1,050 patients who had undergone uni- or bilateral thyroid surgery for benign goiter were included (150 patients in each group, during 1979 to 2009). The stored histological sections of the removed thyroid specimens were re-analyzed, including routine grading of LTI severity on a scale of 0–4, according to Williams and Doniach. Positive correlations were seen for the incidences of LTI grading (0–4) (r = 0.077, p = 0.013) and HT (r = 0.044, p = 0.078) over the years. Furthermore, when comparing the years 1979–1989 and 1994–2009, i.e., before and after the second iodine prophylaxis had been introduced in Austria, a higher incidence of HT was found for the later years (2 out of 450, 0.4%, vs. 6 out of 600, 1.0%, respectively; p < 0.0001). In conclusion, the data demonstrate that the incidence of LTI and HT has increased substantially over the last 31 years.

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Conflict of interest statement

We declare that we have no conflict of interest.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Surgery, Kaiserin Elisabeth Spital, Huglgasse 1-3, 1150, Vienna, Austria

    Johannes Ott, Moritz Meusel, Regina Promberger, Shannon Joan Pallikunnel & Michael Hermann

  2. Department of Gynecologic Endocrinology and Reproductive Medicine, Medical University Vienna, Waehringer Guertel 18-20, 1090, Vienna, Austria

    Johannes Ott

  3. Department of Pathology and Microbiology, Kaiserin Elisabeth Spital, Huglgasse 1-3, 1150, Vienna, Austria

    Andrea Schultheis & Nikolaus Neuhold

  4. Department of Surgery, Medical University of Vienna, Waehringer Guertel 18-20, 1090, Vienna, Austria

    Regina Promberger

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  1. Johannes Ott
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  2. Moritz Meusel
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  3. Andrea Schultheis
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Correspondence to Johannes Ott.

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Ott, J., Meusel, M., Schultheis, A. et al. The incidence of lymphocytic thyroid infiltration and Hashimoto's thyroiditis increased in patients operated for benign goiter over a 31-year period. Virchows Arch 459, 277–281 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00428-011-1130-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00428-011-1130-x

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