Impact of tobacco smoking on thyroid ultrasound image assessed among random population of spa patients in Kołobrzeg, Poland

Tobacco smoking increases the risk of many diseases, but its association with thyroid disorders remains unclear. Most studies show higher incidence of thyroid nodularity in the populations of smokers. Due to its pro-inflammatory effect, tobacco is said to play an important role also in the development of thyroid inflammation. However, our study showed opposite results. We performed a research on a population of 75 spa guests in Poland. The study was based on surveys and ultrasound thyroid examination. Among examined patients, thyroid nodularity was more common in non-smokers than in smokers. Focal changes were detected in 25,00% of smokers and in 48,00% of non-smokers. Examined smokers presented also less abnormalities in the thyroid echogenicity. Heterogenous thyroid echogenicity was detected in 40,00% of smokers and in 52% of non-smokers. 49,21% of the examined population had enlarged thyroid gland. Among the group with enlarged thyroid gland only 24,30% were smokers and 75,70% were non-smokers. Such results can be explained by a small study group of patients. Another aspect is the type of the group- it turned out, that most of the patients who were interested in participation in the study, presented thyroid diseases in the past.