SMOKING IS LINKED TO GRAVES' DISEASE

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SMOKING IS LINKED TO GRAVES' DISEASE.

Previously reported data have suggested an association between smoking and Graves' disease. To explore the matter further, these investigators collected data on smoking from five groups of patients at a university hospital: 100 with Graves' hyperthyroidism and ophthalmopathy, 100 with Graves' hyperthyroidism but no clinical eye involvement, 100 with sporadic nontoxic goiter, 75 with autoimmune hypothyroidism, and 75 with toxic nodular goiter. Patients in all groups were matched by age and sex with hospitalized and community- based controls.

The prevalence of smoking ranged from 35 percent to 41 percent in the control groups. In contrast, subjects with Graves' hyperthyroidism with and without ocular involvement had smoking rates of 81 percent and 56 percent, respectively. Smokers with Graves' ophthalmopathy had more severe eye disease than nonsmokers, although disease severity did not correlate with the amount or duration of smoking. The other thyroid conditions had no significant association with smoking.

These data establish an association between smoking and Graves' disease. Although this report does not prove a cause-and-effect relation, it indicates that patients with a family history of Graves' disease should avoid smoking.

— THL

Published in Journal Watch General Medicine February 2, 1993