Early-life adversity and negative emotional responses are associated with hashimoto's thyroiditis.

BACKGROUND

Stress and negative emotional states may contribute to immune dysregulation and pro-inflammatory pathways, increasing vulnerability to autoimmunity and adversely affecting psychological well-being. Hashimoto's thyroiditis (HT) is frequently associated with psychological stress, although data remain limited.

METHODS

We enrolled 268 female subjects aged 21-70 years, including 157 patients with HT and 111 age-matched healthy controls. Participants completed validated questionnaires assessing trait emotional intelligence (TEIQue-SF), perceived stress (PSM), coping strategies (CISS), and adverse childhood experiences (ACEs). Socio-demographic and clinical data were also collected. Group differences were analyzed, and multivariable logistic regression was performed to identify factors independently associated with HT.

RESULTS

Compared with controls, HT patients reported a greater number of ACEs (p = 0.001) and a higher perceived burden associated with these experiences (p = 0.001). A family history of autoimmune disease was more frequent among HT patients (p = 0.001), and both family history (p = 0.004) and ACEs (p = 0.015) were independently associated with HT. Patients also showed higher perceived stress (p = 0.001) and lower well-being (p = 0.020) and self-control (p = 0.007) than controls. In addition, to face stressful events, HT patients relied more on emotion-oriented coping (p = 0.004) indicating a greater reliance on maladaptive strategies, whereas controls predominantly adopted task-oriented coping strategies (p = 0.005).

CONCLUSIONS

HT patients exhibit increased psychological vulnerability characterized by early-life adversity, reduced emotional resources, maladaptive coping, and heightened stress. These findings support a potential role of psychosocial stress as an additional vulnerability factor acting on a genetically predisposed background.