Endocrine Abstracts

Introduction: Primary hyperparathyroidism (PHPT) develops more frequently in the elderly with marked predisposition for female gender. The prevalence of PHPT in Poland is unknown. Therefore, the aim of this study is to assess the prevalence of PHPT in a representative sample of Polish elderly population.

Description of methods/design: The study was carried out as a part of the nationwide PolSenior project (medical, psychological and socioeconomic aspects of aging in Poland) in the population of randomly selected 5695 participants (2899 males and 2796 females) using the national PESEL database (the National Electronic System of Population Records). Serum calcium, phosphates, 25-OH-vitamin D and PTH concentrations were assessed in 4588 out of 4737 obtained blood samples, constituting 80.6% of the study group. PHPT was diagnosed in participants with increased corrected serum calcium concentration (>10.6 mg/dl) and increased (>65 pg/ml) or normal (15–65 pg/ml) intact PTH level or corrected serum calcium >10.0 mg/dl and increased intact PTH concentration.

Results: Fifty-six participants including 18 out of 2358 (0.76%) males and 38 out of 2230 (1.70%) females with PHPT were identified. The prevalence of PHPT in the Polish elderly population was estimated at 0.99%. Female gender significantly increased the risk for PHPT (OR=2.25(1.28–3.96); P=0.005). The higher prevalence of PTHP was found in the oldest subjects: aged 85–89 (1.31% of males and 3.01% of females) and 90 years. or above (1.83% of males and 3.93% of females). Thirty-six out of 56 participants with PHPT had vitamin D level lower than recommended (<30 ng/ml). None but one of the participants with PHPT had prior episode of stone expulsion or lithotripsy.

Conclusions: The prevalence of PHPT is increased in the very old. PHPT in the elderly does not seem to increase the risk of kidney stones.

Declaration of interest: The authors declare that there is no conflict of interest that could be perceived as prejudicing the impartiality of the research project.

Funding: This work was supported, however funding details unavailable.