OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) levels and the presence of antithyroperoxidase antibody (anti-TPO) in Down’s syndrome (DS) patients from Hospital de Clínicas of Universidade Federal do Paraná (HC/UFPR). METHODS: Seventy-two DS patients, non-related and consecutively selected (mean age 6.15) were included in the study. Eighty matched healthy children were used as controls. The TSH measurement and the anti-TPO were determined by immunometric assay in all samples. RESULTS: Thirty patients with DS (42.9%) presented abnormal levels of TSH; 4.3% showed values below 0.5µIU/ml and 38.6% presented values higher than 5µIU/ml (range 5.1-22; mean 5.56 ± 4.18µIU/ml). The mean concentration of TSH in the controls was 2.76 ± 1.14µIU/ml, indicating a significant increase in TSH levels in the DS patients (p < 0.001). Similarly, a significant difference was observed in the anti-TPO positivity in the patients’ group (15.4%) when compared with the controls (0%; p < 0.001). In addition, the TSH levels of patients older than 9 years presented a significant increase (mean of 6.86 ± 4.6µIU/ml) when compared with the levels observed in patients younger than 9 years (mean of 5.24 ± 3.81µIU/ml; p = 0.006). The same pattern was observed in the positivity of anti-TPO (6/20 vs. 5/52; p = 0.041). CONCLUSIONS: The results demonstrated high prevalence of elevated TSH and anti-TPO in the patients from the DS ambulatory of HC/UFPR, with increased frequency in those older than 9 years. The data indicate that the evaluation of thyroid function in DS patients must receive special attention from health professionals who take care of these patients.
Down’s syndrome; Thyroiditis; TSH
