Endocrine Abstracts

AutoImmune Thyroid Disease (AITD) is, nowadays, generally considered to be a complex multifactorial entity, in which the interplay between genetic and environmental factors results in the expression of the disease. Genetic predisposition plays a major role in the pathogenesis of AITD, as siblings and other family members of AITD patients are at increased risk for AITD. Then, how can we, as physicians, answer the question of our AITD patients ‘will my children also get the disease?’. A predictive score for the development of overt hypothyroidism or hyperthyroidism within 5 years was composed, based on the findings from a prospective observational study of the ‘Amsterdam AITD cohort’. The score is called the Thyroid Events Amsterdam or THEA score. The cohort consisted of healthy first- or second- degree female relatives of patients with AITD who were observed for 5 years. Thyroid function tests, family history and exposure to some environmental insults at study entrance were put in a model for the calculation of the score. The numerical THEA score predicts events by weighing the three independent risk factors: TSH, TPOAb and family background. The higher the THEA score, the higher the risk of developing overt thyroid dysfunction within a period of 5 years. During the presentation, I aim to give a description of the development of the THEA score, its clinical applicability, a brief report of the recent clinical studies regarding the factors which influence the development of AITD and, finally, what the future holds in the field of the prediction of developing AITD.