Prevalence and Annual Incidence of Thyroid Disease in Korea from 2006 to 2015: A Nationwide Population-Based Cohort Study

BackgroundThe incidence of thyroid nodules has increased worldwide in recent years. Thyroid dysfunction is a potential risk factor for hypercholesterolemia, cardiovascular disease, osteoporosis, arrhythmia, and neuropsychiatric disease. This study investigated the prevalence and annual incidence of...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Hyemi Kwon, Jin-hyung Jung, Kyung-Do Han, Yong-Gyu Park, Jung-Hwan Cho, Da Young Lee, Ji Min Han, Se Eun Park, Eun-Jung Rhee, Won-Young Lee
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Korean Endocrine Society 2018-06-01
Series:Endocrinology and Metabolism
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Online Access:https://e-enm.org/Synapse/Data/PDFData/2008ENM/enm-33-260.pdf
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Summary:BackgroundThe incidence of thyroid nodules has increased worldwide in recent years. Thyroid dysfunction is a potential risk factor for hypercholesterolemia, cardiovascular disease, osteoporosis, arrhythmia, and neuropsychiatric disease. This study investigated the prevalence and annual incidence of thyroid nodules, hypothyroidism, and hyperthyroidism in Koreans.MethodsIn this nationwide population-based cohort study, 51,834,660 subjects were included using the National Health Information database from 2006 to 2015, after the exclusion of subjects with thyroid cancer.ResultsThe prevalence in Korea in 2015 of thyroid nodules, hypothyroidism in patients taking thyroid hormone, and hyperthyroidism in patients undergoing treatment was 15.82/1,000 population, 15.94/1,000 population, and 2.76/1,000 population, respectively. All these diseases were more prevalent among women than among men. The number of incident cases of these three thyroid diseases steadily increased from 2006 to 2012, and then decreased through 2015. The incidence of thyroid nodules, hypothyroidism treated with thyroid hormone, and treated hyperthyroidism was 6.79/1,000 population, 1.76/1,000 population, and 0.55/1,000 population, respectively, in Korea in 2015. The use of methimazole continuously increased, from 33% of total antithyroid drug prescriptions in 2006 to 74.4% in 2015, and it became the most frequently prescribed antithyroid drug in Korea. In contrast, the use of propylthiouracil continuously decreased.ConclusionThis was the first nationwide study of the prevalence and annual incidence of thyroid nodules, hypothyroidism, and hyperthyroidism to take into account recent changes and to include the current status of patients receiving treatment.
ISSN:2093-596X
2093-5978