Early appearance of thyroid autoimmunity in children followed from birth for type 1 diabetes risk
PURPOSE: Autoantibodies to thyroid peroxidase (TPOAb) and thyroglobulin (TgAb) define pre-clinical autoimmune thyroid disease (AITD) which can progress to either clinical hypo- or hyperthyroidism. We determined the age at seroconversion in children genetically at risk for type 1 diabetes.METHODS: TPOAb and TgAb seropositivity were determined in 5066 healthy children with HLA DR3 or DR4 containing