THE TRENDS OF HYPERTHYROIDISM TREATMENT IN TAIWAN: A NATIONWIDE POPULATION-BASED STUDY.

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THE TRENDS OF HYPERTHYROIDISM TREATMENT IN TAIWAN: A NATIONWIDE POPULATION-BASED STUDY.

Endocr Pract. 2018 Apr 24;:

Authors: Kornelius E, Yang YS, Huang CN, Wang YH, Lo SC, Lai YR, Chiou JY

Abstract
OBJECTIVE: Over the past three decades, few studies on hyperthyroidism treatment trends have been reported. Therefore, we used a nationwide population-based database to evaluate the current practices and management of hyperthyroidism in Taiwan.
METHODS: This retrospective study included a random selection of 1 million people in Taiwan between 2004 and 2010. Hyperthyroidism patients who received anti-thyroid drugs (ATD), radioactive iodine (RAI), or surgery were identified. We calculated the proportion and treatment trends of those 3 treatment options annually. Poisson regression model was used to determine whether there was a change of trends in hyperthyroidism patients. P < 0.05 was considered statistically significant.
RESULTS: The prevalence of overt hyperthyroidism increased steadily in Taiwan from 2,666 (0.27%) in 2004, to 3,464 (0.37%) in 2010. The incidence of hyperthyroidism (per 1,000 persons) also increased from 0.97 in 2004 to 1.06 in 2010. The major proportion of hyperthyroidism in this study was Graves' disease (95%), followed by toxic nodular goiter (2%), and other causes (3%). ATD is the most commonly used (96-97%) treatment for hyperthyroidism, followed by surgery (2-3%), and RAI (<1%). There was a significant decreasing trend for surgery, which decreased from 2.9% in 2004 to 2% in 2010, especially in female patients (3.3% in 2004 to 2.3% in 2010, p <001) and patients younger than 40 (3.8% in 2004 to 2.9% in 2010, p <001). Meanwhile, the proportion of ATD and RAI remain unchanged. The most common ATD prescription was methimazole (45-50%), followed by propylthiouracil (30-32%) and carbimazole (19-21%).
CONCLUSION: For the period 2004-2010, ATD was the treatment of choice in Taiwan, followed by surgery and RAI.

PMID: 29688762 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]

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