{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,24]],"date-time":"2026-06-24T06:46:37Z","timestamp":1782283597077,"version":"3.54.5"},"reference-count":33,"publisher":"Frontiers Media SA","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,24]],"date-time":"2026-06-24T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1782259200000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["frontiersin.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Front. Immunol."],"abstract":"<jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Background<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Autoimmune thyroiditis (AIT) ranks among the most common autoimmune disorders globally. Adherence to a healthy lifestyle may substantially offset the risk conferred by a high transcriptomic risk profile.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Methods<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>\n                      Immune-related differentially expressed genes (IRDEGs) were first identified based on data from the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database (N\n                      <jats:sub>AIT<\/jats:sub>\n                      =13, N\n                      <jats:sub>non-AIT<\/jats:sub>\n                      =10) and a cross-sectional dataset from Anhui Province (N\n                      <jats:sub>AIT<\/jats:sub>\n                      =5, N\n                      <jats:sub>non-AIT<\/jats:sub>\n                      =5). Feature selection was then performed using LASSO regression and random forest algorithms to pinpoint key IRDEGs. These key genes were subsequently validated in a large, multi-province Chinese cross-sectional dataset (N\u00a0=\u00a0902). Within this validation dataset, an RNA sequencing-based risk score (RSR score) was developed, and lifestyle factors were evaluated via structured questionnaires. The associations between the RSR score, lifestyle, and AIT were examined using multivariable logistic regression.\n                    <\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Results<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Through a multi-stage screening and validation process, three key genes were identified: IFI16, CASP4, and BKT. The study included 902 participants with a mean age of 39.17 \u00b1 10.70 years, 56.32% of whom were female. Among them, 126 cases of AIT were identified (13.97%). The prevalence of AIT showed significant differences across strata of gender, lifestyle, and the RSR score. Logistic regression identified a high RSR score (OR\u00a0=\u00a02.58, 95% CI: 1.72\u20133.89), along with intermediate (OR\u00a0=\u00a02.38, 95% CI: 1.18\u20134.79) and unfavorable (OR\u00a0=\u00a02.84, 95% CI: 1.43\u20135.62) lifestyles, as significant risk factors for AIT. The robustness of these associations was confirmed in stratified analyses by age and gender.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Conclusion<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>This study suggests independent and interactive roles of transcriptomic risk and lifestyle in AIT etiology. Adherence to a healthy lifestyle may substantially offset the risk conferred by high transcriptomic susceptibility.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.3389\/fimmu.2026.1853447","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,24]],"date-time":"2026-06-24T05:47:47Z","timestamp":1782280067000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Transcriptomics, lifestyle, and autoimmune thyroiditis: an integrated association study"],"prefix":"10.3389","volume":"17","author":[{"given":"Chun-Hu","family":"Li","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Harbin Medical University, Center for Endemic Disease Control","place":["Harbin, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Yu-Hang","family":"Liu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Harbin Medical University, Center for Endemic Disease Control","place":["Harbin, 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