Hashimoto's thyroiditis or
chronic lymphocytic thyroiditis is an
autoimmune disease where the body's own T-cells attack the
cells of the
thyroid. It was the first disease to be recognised as an autoimmune disease.
[citation needed]This disorder is believed to be the most common cause of primary hypothyroidism in North America. An average of 1 to 1.5 in a 1000 people have this disease. It occurs far more often in women than in men (101 to 201), and is most prevalent between 45 and 65 years of age.
In European countries, an atrophic form of autoimmune thyroiditis (Ord's thyroiditis) is more common than Hashimoto's thyroiditis.
The family history of thyroid disorders is common, with the HLA-DR5 gene most strongly implicated conferring a relative risk of 3 in the UK. In addition Hashimoto's thyroiditis may be associated with CTLA-4 gene since the CTLA-4 antigen acts as an inhibitor to T-Cell activation.
