Evaluation of Anti Thyroid Antibodies Among Iraqi Women Suffering From Recurrent Abortion

Autoimmunity has been directly associated in the etiology of several reproductive conditions including unexplained infertility and recurrent abortion. This study focused on anti-thyroid autoantibodies and thyroid hormones as immunological and hormonal causative factors for recurrent abortion. The study was case control study included one hundred women 20-30 years old who history of recurrent abortion during the first trimester as cases , and 100 healthy multigravida without any pervious abortion as a control group. They were selected in the third trimester of pregnancy in the Al-Yarmouk teaching Hospital, Baghdad, from September 2013 to March 2014.For all women in the two groups serum concentration for anti thyroglobulin antibodies(TG-abs),anti thyroid peroxidase antibodies(TPO-abs),thyroid function tests in addition to antibodies to Toxoplasma ,Cytomegalovirus,Cardolipin and Phospholipid antibodies were evaluated using ELISA kits. Results revealed that there was a statistically significant relation between recurrent abortion and anti TPO autoantibodies (X2= 10.039, P= 0.002), where the majority of positive results were in cases as follow: 26(13% )of cases were positive for TPO antibodies compared to 6(3.0%) of control group. Also there was a statistically significant relation between recurrent abortion and anti TG autoantibodies (X2= 11.317, P= 0.002), where the majority of positive results were in cases as follow: 20(10%) of cases were positive for TG antibodies compared to 4(2%) of control group. The results showed statistically significant relationship between anti-TPO Abs and anti-TG Abs with TSH level (X2=9.968, P=0.002, and X2=5.977, P= 0.032, respectively). Free T4 levels were normal in the two groups. On other hand, there was no statistically significant relationship between thyroid antibodies and Toxoplasma, CMV, Cardiolipin and phospholipid antibodies among women in Baghdad city . We concluded that recurrent abortion has a statistically significant relation with antithyroid autoantibodies (TG-abs and TPO-abs), where 32% of cases were positive for one or both (anti TPO antibodies and/or anti TG antibodies), while the positivity in control where 9.0%.