Endocrine Abstracts

Introduction: Autoimmune thyroiditis (AIT) is one of the most common endocrine disorders worldwide met in young patients, which leads to hypothyroidism because of durable autoimmune inflammation. Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a widespread disorder that severely influences the quality of life, and is also prevalent in young patients. The scientific interest is in studying the peculiarities of gut microbiome alterations in patients with the current comorbid pathology.

Methods: The prospective study included 98 patients with AIT and compensated hypothyroidism (AIT-H) with comorbid IBS with constipation (IBS-C): both male (n = 38) and female (n = 60). The average age of male patients was 41.2 y. o, and 36.7 for female patients. The patients received Levothyroxine 25-150 mg for hypothyroidism compensation. The ultrasound, anti-TPO, and Anti-hTg blood tests were used to diagnose AIT, while the compensation stage was determined by the level of TSH=1.0-2.5 mIU/l. In patients with IBS-C (diagnosed due to Rome IV criteria), the result of fecal calprotectin test <50 mg/g was used to exclude bowel inflammation. All patients were provided real-time PCR microbiome tests for total bacterial count (TBC), Firmicutes/Bacteroides ratio, E. coli, Fecalibactrerium prausnitzii, Lactobacillus spp., Enterococcus spp., Bacteroides fragilis group/Fecalibactrerium prausnitzii ratio, Bifidobacterium spp., Fusobacterium nucleatum, Roseburia inulinivorans.

Results: In studied patients the bacterial quantity (M±m) was the following: TBC=9,31±0,31, Bacteroides fragilis group/Fecalibactrerium prausnitzii ratio 794,57±85,54. Firmicutes/Bacteroidesratio 1,02±0,06, E. coli 6,02±0,32, Bifidobacterium spp. 7,32±0,29, Fecalibactrerium prausnitzii 8,14±0,54, Lactobacillus spp. 5,73±0,31, Enterococcus spp. 6,4±0,5, Fusobacterium nucleatum 3,0± 0,1, Roseburia inulinivorans 7,46 ± 0,71.

Conclusion: In patients with AIT-H and IBS-C the amounts of Roseburia inulinivorans and Fusobacterium nucleatum were higher than normal values, while Lactobacillus spp., Bifidobacterium spp., E. coli were lower, and the Bacteroides fragilis group/Fecalibactrerium prausnitzii ratio exceeded the normal. Knowing the gut microbiome alterations can open new management approaches and improve the quality of life of young patients.