Antibody-negative autoimmune thyroiditis has a milder course,22 while the presence of TPOAb is associated with an increased risk of overt hypothyroidism.8 From all these data we can expect that patients with higher antibody levels may need more hormone replacement. 46.6 [13.2] years). In the antibody-positive group (n=210) average daily levothyroxine dose was statistically significantly higher than in the antibody-negative group (n=93) (mean of PR65A 78.8 [36.7] vs 64.2 [27.1] Lerisetron mg/day, test was used for the comparison of the parameters with a normal distribution. The Mann-Whitney U test was used for data that were not normally distributed. The relationship between the TPOAb and TgAb levels with L-T4 dose and disease duration were analyzed by the Spearman rho test. valuetest; bFisher exact test In the antibody positive group the mean L-T4 dose was significantly higher than in the antibody-negative group (Table 2). The male patients had higher but statistically insignificant L-T4 doses than the female patients in both the antibody-negative and antibody-positive group (mean [standard deviation] of 72.6 [34.6], median 67.9 vs 62.5 [25.2], median 50, P=.175 and mean of 87.1 [46.0], median 87.5 vs 78.3 [34.9], median 75, P=0.372, respectively). There was a low but statistically significant positive relationship between the TPOAb levels and L-T4 doses in the antibody positive group (r=0.217; P<.01). Similarly, a statistically significant positive relationship was found between the TgAb levels and the L-T4 doses (r=0.158; P<.05). There was no statistically significant relationship between TPOAb and TgAb levels and L-T4 doses in the antibody-negative group (P>.05) (Table 3). There was a weak but statistically significant negative relationship between TPOAb level and disease duration in the antibody-positive group (r=?0,159; P<.05). On the other hand, there was no statistically significant relationship between TgAb level and disease duration (P>.05) (Table 4). There was no statistically significant difference among L-T4 dose and smoking status, and other medications including PPIs and iron supplements (Table 5). Similarly, there was no statistically significant difference between smoking, additional drug use and L-T4 dosage in the antibody-negative group. As we expected, there was a weak but a statistically significant relationship between the drug dose and weight (r=0.241, P=.008) and BMI (r=0.157, P=.024) in the antibody-positive group. There was no statistically significant relationship between the drug dose and weight and BMI in the antibody-negative group. Table 2 Relationship of drug dose and antibody groups.
Antibody-positive78.83 (35.66)75.001Antibody-negative64.22 (27.013)50 Open in a separate window Mann-Whitney U test Table 3 The relationship between anti-thyroid peroxidase (TPOAb) and anti-thyroglobulin (TgAb) autoantibody levels with levothyroxine doses.
Antibody-positive0.217.002a0.158.023bAntibody-negative0.158.2190.178.093 Open in a separate window Spearman rho test aP<.01 bP<.05 Table 4 The relationship between anti-thyroid peroxidase Lerisetron (TPOAb) and anti-thyroglobulin (TgAb) autoantibody levels and disease duration in the antibody-positive group.
Antibody positive
Disease duration
r
P
TPOAb?0.159.021aTgAb?0.021.765 Open in a separate window Spearman rho test aP<.05 Table 5 The relationship between smoking status, use of proton-pump inhibitors (PPI), iron and other medications with levothyroxine dose in the antibody-positive group.
Antibody positive
n
L-T4 dose (g/day)
P
Mean (SD)
Median
SmokingNone17677.05 (32.48)75.179Use3488.07 (48.54)93PPINone17779.07 (36.44)75.956Use3377.55 (31.64)75IronNone19078.08 (34.79)75.594Use2086.04 (43.44)75Additional medicationNone15680 (37.3)75.732Use5475.46 (30.52)75 Open in a separate window Mann-Whitney U test DISCUSSION L-T4, which is converted to T3 in peripheral tissues, is the standard treatment option for patients with hypothyroidism. The daily requirement for thyroxine varies from patient to patient. Many factors such as the degree of hypothyroidism, body weight, age, poor patient compliance, accompanying chronic diseases and some drugs used simultaneously affect the daily requirement. Our results.