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Aim The aim of the present study is to compare pregnancy outcomes among patients with and without thyroid antibodies and/or subclinical hypothyroidism and investigate whether there is an association between first trimester maternal plasma interleukin-6 (IL-6) levels and adverse pregnancy outcomes. Methods A case-control study was carried out including 83 pregnant women (40 thyroid antibody positive and 43 healthy controls). The predictive value of first trimester maternal plasma IL-6 levels on adverse pregnancy outcomes were investigated. The optimal cut-off points of IL-6 for determining maternal and fetal outcomes were evaluated by receiver operating characteristic analyses. Results Compared with the control, median IL-6 levels were significantly higher in thyroid antibody positive pregnancies (median 1.58 vs 1.63 pg/mL; P = 0.047). IL-6 levels were found to be significantly higher in women who had suffered a miscarriage ( P = 0.002), preterm delivery ( P < 0.001), intrauterine growth restriction ( P = 0.047), preterm premature rupture of membranes ( P = 0.043) and overall prenatal complications ( P < 0.001). A statistically significant negative correlation between gestational week at birth and IL-6 levels was also determined among all participants involved in the study (r = -0.385, P < 0.001). Conclusion IL-6 levels are significantly increased in thyroid antibody positive patients and predictive for future adverse outcomes, irrespective of thyroid autoimmunity. Increased first trimester IL-6 levels independently predict adverse pregnancy outcomes, regardless of subclinical hypothyroidism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: To establish new reference intervals for thyrotropin (TSH), free thyroxine (FT4), and free triiodothyronine (FT3) on the Beckman Coulter DxI 800 in healthy Turkish adults and assess the prevalence of laboratory evidence of thyroid antibodies in this population. Materials and methods: Specimens were obtained from 619 healthy volunteers (338 females, 281 males).The study was conducted with health care professionals and their relatives, The mean age of all the subjects was 34.7 and the median was 31 years, with ages ranging from 15 to 84. Moreover, the subjects had no evidence of thyroid autoimmunity or a history of drug use, both of which might interfere with thyroid function. Results: After exclusion of samples positive for thyroid antibodies (Antithyroperoxidase; TPOAb, Antithyroglobulin; TgAb), the final sample size for the evaluation of TSH, FT3, and FT4 reference ranges was 509 (254 females, 255 males) and the age range was 15-80 (mean 34.1, median 30). The prevalence of antithyroid antibodies was 17.8% in total and positive thyroid antibodies were more common among females (13.6%) than males (4.2%). We established the reference intervals for the healthy adults as 0.41-4.25 mIU/L for TSH, 0.61-1.06 ng/dL (7.85-13.64 pmol/L) for FT4, and 2.62-3.84 pg/mL (4.02-5.90 pmol/L) for FT3. Conclusion: The reference intervals of thyroid hormones vary considerably from those of other populations and the intervals recommended by the manufacturer. This underlines the need for population-specific reference ranges. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]