Abstract: Objective To investigate the role of thyroid autoimmunity in chronic urticaria. Methods The thyroid function, anti-thyroid auto-antibodies, and relevant cytokines were detected by RIA and ELISA methods in 56 patients with chronic urticaria and 40 healthy controls. Results Serum thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH), anti-thyroglobulin antibody (TG-Ab) and anti-thyromicrosome antibody (TMA) levels were increased in 8, 5 and 7 cases, respectively, in 56 patients, which were significantly higher than those in healthy controls (P<0.05, 0.05, and 0.05, respectively). IL-1 and IL-8 levels were significantly increased in patients in comparison with those in controls (P<0.001). There were no significant differences of the levels of other parameters (T3, T4, FT3, FT4 and γ-T3) between two groups. Conclusion The data show that patients with chronic urticaria have abnormalities in thyroid function, anti-thyroid antibodies, and IL-1 and IL-8, suggesting that autoimmunity may be involved in the pathogenesis of chronic urticaria.

Key words: Urticaria, Thyroid hormones, Immunoglobulins, thyroid-stimulating, Interleukin-1, Intrtleukin-8