Kuma Hospital, Kobe, Japan.
Thyroid. 2010 Feb;20(2):205-8. doi: 10.1089/thy.2009.0264.
Multiple cysts of the thyroid gland have not been recognized as one of the causes of hypothyroidism. Here we present six patients from a region with relatively high iodine intake in whom multiple cysts of the thyroid were associated with hypothyroidism or the development of hypothyroidism.
All patients were women and ranged in age from 49 to 71. Their thyroids were mildly enlarged, tests for thyroid autoantibodies were negative, and multiple cysts were detected in the thyroid by ultrasonography. By dietary questionnaire their iodine intake was estimated to range from 2 to 10 mg of iodine daily. Otherwise, there was no evidence for disorders or factors associated with hypothyroidism. All four patients who agreed to dietary iodine restriction became euthyroid at approximately 1 month after a low-iodine diet (less than 0.5 mg iodine per day) was started.
Although these patients were from a region with high-iodine intake and had a relatively high intake compared with most regions of the world, this amount of iodine intake is not associated with hypothyroidism in otherwise healthy persons. Therefore, we propose that multiple thyroid cysts, which we have termed polycystic goiter, is probably a cause of hypothyroidism in patients with a relatively high iodine intake.
甲状腺多发囊肿尚未被认为是导致甲状腺功能减退症的原因之一。在此，我们报告了 6 例来自碘摄入量相对较高地区的患者，他们的甲状腺多发囊肿与甲状腺功能减退症或甲状腺功能减退症的发展有关。
所有患者均为女性，年龄 49 至 71 岁。她们的甲状腺轻度肿大，甲状腺自身抗体检测为阴性，超声检查发现甲状腺多发囊肿。通过饮食问卷估计，她们的碘摄入量每天为 2 至 10 毫克。此外，没有证据表明存在与甲状腺功能减退症相关的疾病或因素。所有同意限制碘饮食的 4 名患者在开始低碘饮食（每天摄入碘少于 0.5 毫克）约 1 个月后均恢复甲状腺功能正常。
尽管这些患者来自碘摄入量较高的地区，且与世界上大多数地区相比，碘摄入量相对较高，但这种碘摄入量与健康人群的甲状腺功能减退症无关。因此，我们提出甲状腺多发囊肿（我们称之为多囊性甲状腺肿）可能是高碘摄入患者甲状腺功能减退症的一个病因。
