Endocrine Abstracts

Introduction: Studies have reported a rising incidence of congenital hypothyroidism (CHT) although the pathophysiology of most cases is unknown. A rising incidence is not simply a reflection of changing assay methodology and environmental factors may have an aetiological role. If so, then cases may exhibit space-time clustering, where cases occur at similar times and close proximities to other cases.Methods: We investigated whether there is evidence of s...

Background: Environmental factors play a role in the aetiology of type 1 diabetes. A particular role for infectious exposures has been postulated. Temporal variation in incidence would be consistent with this hypothesis. We specifically aimed to test predictions of increasing incidence occurring among cases of type 1 diabetes in children (aged 0–14 years) that might arise as a result of an environmental mechanism.Subjects and methods: The study anal...