ASSOCIATION BETWEEN CRYOGLOBULINEMIA AND THYROID DYSFUNCTION IN HEPATITIS C CARRIERS

Introduction: Cryoglobulinemia is a biomarker of autoimmunity correlated with hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection. Objective: Report the association between the presence of mixed-cryoglobulinemia and thyroid dysfunction (TD) in hepatitis C virus carriers before and during treatment with pegylatedinterferon-alpha (Peg-IFN-α). Methods: Prospective cohort study. Results: Sixty-five untreated HCV patients, 38 women and 27 men were included in this study. Mean age of patients was 49.61 ± 11.83 years. Cryoglobulinemia was demonstrated in 24 (36.92%) patients. The TD was demonstrated in 2 patients (3.10%) before treatment with IFN-α, in 4 patients (6.20%) at 12th week, and 8 patients (12.30%) at 24th week; whereas autoimmune thyroid (TPO-Ab) positive was demonstrated in 3 patients (4.60%) before treatment, in 7 patients (10.80%) at 12th week, and 12 patients (18.50%) at 24th week. In the sample analyzed, the risk of a patient with cryoglobulinemia develop TD was 2.74 (95% CI: 1.95–12.95) times that of a patient without cryoglobulinemia in the 12th week of treatment and 1.83 (95% CI: 1.03–7.08) times in the 24th week of antiviral treatment, and risk of a patient with cryoglobulinemia for develop TPO Ab positive was 2.44 (95% CI: 1.46–5.98) times that of a patient without cryoglobulinemia in the 12th week of treatment, and 1.31 (95% CI: 1.05–2.89) times in the 24th weeks of antiviral treatment. Conclusion: We concluded that thyroid function evaluation should be recommended for HCV carriers that are seropositive for cryoglobulinemia.