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Background: Patients with autoimmune thyroid diseases (ATD) such as Graves’ disease (GD) and Hashimoto thyroiditis (HT) may have non-organ specific autoantibodies such as antinuclear antibodies (ANA) and rheumatoid factor (RF). Aim: To study the prevalence of rheumatic autoantibodies in a group of ATD patients without known rheumatic diseases and to evaluate its association with the patients’ epidemiological and treatment profiles. To follow positive non-organ specific autoantibody-positive ATD individuals to investigate whether they will develop a rheumatic disorder. Methods: A sample of 154 ATD patients (70 HT and 84 GD; mean age 45.3 ± 14.2) had determination of ANA by immunofluorescence, using hep-2 cells as substrate, extractable nuclear antigen profile by ELISA kits and RF by latex agglutination. Epidemiological and treatment profiles were obtained through chart review. These patients were followed for the mean period of 5 years, between 2010 and 2015. Results: Positive ANA was found in 17.5% (27/154) of the patients: anti-Ro/SS-A in 4/154 (2.5%); anti-RNP in 4/154 (2.5%), and anti-La/SS-B in 3/154 (1.9%). None had anti-Sm antibodies. RF was detected in 12/154 (7.7%) of ATD patients and was more common in older individuals (p = 0.007). There was a positive association between the presence of RF and ANA (p = 0.03; OR 3.89; 95% CI 1.1–13.3). None of the patients with positive autoantibodies developed clinical rheumatic diseases during the period of observation. Conclusion: We found rheumatic autoantibodies in 17.5% of ATD patients without rheumatic diseases. None of them were associated with the appearance of clinical rheumatic disorder during the period of 5 years.

Background/Aims: Arthropathy is the most common extraintestinal manifestation observed in patients with Crohn's disease (CD). The present study aimed to screen rheumatoid arthritis (RA) using anti-CCP antibodies and rheumatoid factor (RF) in CD patients from Southern Brazil. Additionally, the presence of arthralgia and spondyloarthritis (SpA) was evaluated. CD patients, previously diagnosed using clinical data, imaging tests, endoscopic and histological findings, were included consecutively. Methods: A total of 100 patients participated in the study, of which 60% were female, with a mean age of 41.9 ± 12.04 (16-83 years). As controls, sera from 100 healthy individuals from the same geographic area were analyzed. Results: Arthralgias were present in 55% of the patients, being more frequent in women (65.5%; 36/55), than in males (34.5%). No association was found between arthralgia and the treatment method used. Six patients (6/100) had SpA previously diagnosed. In the CD group, anti-CCP was positive only in one patient, while RF was positive in 7 patients (7%; 7/100). The anti-CCP positive patient (woman, 38 years old, RF positive), fulfilled the ACR criteria and was diagnosed as RA. In the control group, anti-CCP antibodies were detected in 1% (1/100) and RF was positive in 6 of the samples (6%). Conclusion: Our data showed low frequency of anti-CCP antibodies and RF in Brazilian patients with CD. Additionally, we found a high prevalence of arthralgia in these patients, with 6% of them diagnosed with SpA.

Background/Aims: In this study, a clinical and serological follow-up of 8–10 years was performed in relatives of celiac disease (CD) patients from southern Brazil. The occurrence of new CD cases in the families and the use of two different IgA-tTG enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) kits were also evaluated. Methods: Serum samples of 233 relatives, 186 recruited between 1997 and 2000 (phase I) and 138 between 2006 and 2007 (phase II: 91 of the follow-up group and 47 newly tested), were analyzed. As a comparison group, 100 unrelated healthy individuals were evaluated. IgA-EmA was tested by indirect immunofluorescence and IgA-tTG by ELISA. Results: A significant increase in IgA-EmA/IgA-tTG was detected in relatives of patients with CD when compared to controls (p ≤ 0.001). The positivity of antibodies was higher in females (2.4:1 in phase II; p = 0.039), and its high frequency amongst siblings (∼18.81%) highlights the risk of CD in these individuals. The distribution of antibodies by age suggested that CD can occur at any age in relatives, calling attention to the newly tested relatives >60 years of age (p = 0.0657). A better performance of ELISA kits with human tTG was observed. The confirmation of 13 biopsy-proven new CD cases (5.6%; 13/233) at present points out the predisposition to CD in these individuals and the high specificity of concurrently positive antibodies in relatives, especially when both are present in high titers. Conclusion: These results emphasize the familial risk to develop CD and the value of serological screening as an instrument for identifying this disease.