Autoimmune thyroiditis

Abstract

The aim of this survey is to report the most recent views on epidemiology, pathophysiology, presentation patterns, evolution over time, and long-term prognosis of Hashimoto’s thyroiditis (HT) in childhood and adolescence. The main aspects that have been examined in detail are those concerning the interrelations between HT and Graves” disease and the role played by Down syndrome and Turner syndrome in conditioning an increased susceptibility to HT. We have also carefully considered the relationships between presentation patterns of HT and its evolution over time and the risk factors for malignancy in the children with HT-related nodular disease.