Thyroid autoimmunity as a window to autoimmunity: An explanation for sex differences in the prevalence of thyroid autoimmunity

摘要

Autoimmune thyroid diseases (AITDs), predominately Graves' disease and Hashimoto's thyroiditis, comprise the most common autoimmune diseases in humans. Both have the production of anti-thyroid antibody as an important aspect and both are much more prevalent in females, being at least 10 times more common than in males. Using these two clues, a hypothesis for the initiation of thyroid autoimmunity is proposed that helps to make the case that the thyroid is one of the most sensitive sites for autoimmunity and helps account for the prevalence and the observed sex differences in AITDs and associated diseases, such as type 1 diabetes and Latent Autoimmune Diabetes in Adults (LADA).