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Trends, Determinants, and Associations of Treated Hypothyroidism in the United Kingdom, 2005–2014

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Razvi, Salman, Korevaar, Tim I.M., Taylor, Peter·2019·Thyroid
DOI 10.1089/thy.2018.0251
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Abstract

BACKGROUND: Recent reports suggest that prescriptions for thyroid hormones have increased. Recent trends in and determinants of the prevalence of treated hypothyroidism across the United Kingdom were therefore analyzed. METHODS: Data covering the whole of the United Kingdom held by the National Health Service and the Office of National Statistics were examined. The main outcome measured was trends in the prevalence of treated hypothyroidism between 2005 and 2014. In addition, linear trend forecasting was performed to estimate projected trends in the prevalence of treated hypothyroidism up to the year 2025. Furthermore, determinants of variation of treated hypothyroidism prevalence across each of the 237 health areas in the United Kingdom in 2014 and its association with other health conditions were explored by multivariate linear regression analyses. RESULTS: The prevalence of treated hypothyroidism increased from 2.3% (1.4 million) to 3.5% (2.2 million) of the total British population between the years 2005 and 2014 and is projected to rise further to 4.2% (2.9 million) by 2025. There was large geographical variation of treated hypothyroidism across the United Kingdom, with London having the lowest (1.4%) and the Western Isles of Scotland having the highest (6.3%) prevalence. This variation was attenuated, but did not completely disappear, after some potential determinants were accounted for. The prevalence of treated hypothyroidism was independently related to health areas, with a higher proportion of individuals who were female, white, and obese, and negatively associated with prevalent cigarette smoking. The prevalence of treated hypothyroidism was significantly associated with the frequency of prevalent atrial fibrillation but not with other major health conditions, including ischemic heart disease and osteoporosis. CONCLUSIONS: Between 2005 and 2014, the prevalence of treated hypothyroidism increased across the United Kingdom, has wide geographical variation, and is likely to increase further for the foreseeable future. Clinical effects and cost-effectiveness of the trend in increasing treatment of hypothyroidism remains to be evaluated.

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  • The prevalence of hypothyroidism (subclinical and overt) ranges from 0.2% to 5.3% in Europe and 0.3% to 3.7% in the USA, depending on the definition used and the population.

    “The prevalence of hypothyroidism (subclinical and overt) ranges from 0•2% to 5•3% in Europe 3, 35- 37 and 0•3% to 3•7% in the USA, 10 depending on the definition used and the population.”

    From Hypothyroidism (2024) · cites this paper as [37]

    The Introduction reports approximately 3% prevalence of treated hypothyroidism, including overt and subclinical disease, in the UK and USA. The Results report UK prevalence of 2.3%–3.5% between 2005 and 2014. These figures support part of the statement, but the paper does not establish the quoted Europe-wide or US ranges, and its figures concern treated hypothyroidism rather than all hypothyroidism. (LLM, conf=0.85)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured

  • Levothyroxine prescription is likely to increase further in the foreseeable future.

    “and this is likely to increase further in the foreseeable future.4”

    From Thyroid replacement therapy, thyroid stimulating hormone concentrations, and long term health outcomes in patients with hypothyroidism: longitudinal study (2019) · cites this paper as [4]

  • The prevalence of hypothyroidism in the UK increased 50% from 2.3 to 3.5% between 2005 and 2014.

    “the prevalence of hypothyroidism in the UK increased 50% from 2.3 to 3.5% between 2005 and 2014 [25].”

    From Age-related variation in thyroid function – a narrative review highlighting important implications for research and clinical practice (2023) · cites this paper as [25]

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Authors
Razvi, S., Korevaar, T. I. M., & Taylor, P.
Affiliations
  • Gateshead Health NHS Foundation Trust (GB)
  • Erasmus MC (NL)
  • Cardiff University (GB)
Corresponding author
Razvi, Salman
ORCID
Venue
Thyroid
Publisher
SAGE Publications
Published
2019-02
Volume
29
Issue
2
Pages
174-182
ISSN
  • 1050-7256 (ISSN-L)
  • 1557-9077
DOI
10.1089/thy.2018.0251
OpenAlex
W2900708221
Cited by
45
References
41
Citations by year
2026: 4 · 2025: 4 · 2024: 9 · 2023: 8 · 2022: 2 · 2021: 4 · 2020: 6 · 2019: 8
FWCI
3.61
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
www.liebertpub.com/nv/resources-tools/text-and-data-mining-policy/121/ (tdm)
Locations
  • Thyroid (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • EUR Research Repository (Erasmus University Rotterdam) (publishedVersion)
  • ORCA Online Research @Cardiff (Cardiff University) (submittedVersion)
  • EUR Research Repository (Erasmus University Rotterdam) (submittedVersion)
Funders
National Institute for Health and Care Research (CDF-2012-05-231)
Topics
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism › Thyroid Disorders and Treatments
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Surgery › Thyroid and Parathyroid Surgery
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism › Thyroid Cancer Diagnosis and Treatment
Keywords
prevalence trends, atrial fibrillation, obesity, smoking, sex differences, health disparities, United Kingdom
MeSH terms
Atrial Fibrillation, Endocrinology, Ethnicity, Female, Geography, United Kingdom, Humans, Hypothyroidism, Male, Obesity, Risk Factors, Smoking, Thyroid Hormones, Prevalence, Multivariate Analysis

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