The Prevalence of Thyroid Function Test Abnormalities and Serum Thyroid Autoantibodies in Vitiligo and Alopecia Areata Patients in the Saudi Arabian Population

This study assessed thyroid function abnormalities and serum thyroid autoantibodies in 222 Saudi Arabian patients with vitiligo and alopecia areata (AA). It found thyroid abnormalities in 16.8% of AA patients and 15.6% of vitiligo patients, with elevated anti-TPO and anti-TG antibodies present in both groups. No significant differences were observed between the two conditions or between genders. The results are consistent with previous studies across different ethnicities, suggesting similar rates of thyroid dysfunction in these conditions. The study concludes that detailed thyroid autoimmunity tests may not be necessary for all patients unless clinical signs of thyroid disease are present, and it recommends further research with larger populations. Limitations include its retrospective design, lack of a control group, and small sample size.