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Endocrine Abstracts (2016) 41 EP583 | DOI: 10.1530/endoabs.41.EP583

1Ios and Coleman Medicina Futura Medical Center, Naples, Italy; 2Dipartimento di Medicina Clinica e Chirurgia, Sezione di Endocrinologia, University Federico II, Naples, Italy.


Introduction: Environmental toxins, including those deriving from illegal and hazardous disposal of urban and chemical waste, are known to act as endocrine disruptors and to increase the risk of malignancy and cancer mortality. The present study aimed at investigating prevalence and characteristics of thyroid diseases in the area of Acerra, a town in the perimeter of the so called ‘Land of Fires’.

Methods: The screening included subjects aged ≥15 yrs living in Acerra. Overall, 787 consecutive subjects (631 F, 156 M, aged 39.6±16.3 yrs) were recruited on a voluntary basis. Iodine supplementation, thyroid palpation, hormonal testing (TSH, fT3, fT4, antithyroid antibodies), ultrasound and fine needle cytology (FNC, when necessary) were investigated. According to the age tertiles, subjects were classified as Group A (age <24 yrs, no=236), Group B (Age 25–52 yrs, no=310) an Group C (age > 52 yrs, no=241).

Results: Prevalence of Hashimoto’s thyroiditis and nodular goiter was 13.5% and 17.5% of the whole cohort, respectively, being not different as compared to that of the Italian general population. Hashimoto’s thyroiditis was significantly prevalent in C compared to A (P=0.021), and hyperthyroidism in C compared to A (P=0.003) and B (P=0.03). Prevalence of nodular goiter was higher in C as compared to A (P<0.001) and B (P<0.001), and in subjects who did not use iodine supplementation (P=0.032) as compared to those who did. Among subjects undergone FNC, none had thyroid cancer and all were classified as benign nodular disease (THY2).

Conclusion: These findings suggest that subjects living in the area of Acerra had a similar prevalence of thyroid diseases as compared to the Italian general population and did not present with an increased prevalence of thyroid cancers despite chronic exposure to environmental pollutants.

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