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Endocrine Abstracts (2015) 37 EP1002 | DOI: 10.1530/endoabs.37.EP1002

1Hospital Regional de Málaga, Málaga, Spain; 2Hospital del Mar, Barcelona, Spain; 3Hospital de Cruces, Baracaldo, Spain; 4Hospital Central de Asturias, Oviedo, Spain; 5Hospital Universitario Joan XXIII, Tarragona, Spain.


Introduction: Thyroid dysfunction is a common health problem. Its prevalence may vary in different populations, and in Spain, it has not been sufficiently studied. The aim of this study was to evaluate the prevalence of thyroid dysfunction (clinical and subclinical) in our country.

Materials and methods: The diabetes study is a national, cross-sectional, population-based survey. Target population: the entire Spanish population >18 years. Sample: >5000 subjects in 112 clusters. Participation: 57%. Variables: clinical, demographic, and lifestyle survey, physical examination and blood sampling. Study period: 2008–2010. Specific variables for this study: the concentration of TSH, FT4, FT3, and TPOab antibodies was determined by chemiluminescence (Roche) in 4530 subjects. Iodine concentration was measured in an isolated urine sample by the Benotti technique.

Results: The prevalence of treated hypothyroidism, untreated subclinical hypothyroidism and untreated clinical hypothyroidism were 4.2% (95% CI 3.6–4.9%), 4.6% (95% CI 4.0–5.2%), and 0.3% (95% CI 0.1–0.5%) respectively. The prevalence of hyperthyroidism was 0.8% (95% CI 0.6–1.1%) and the prevalence of positive thyroid autoimmunity (TPO >50 IU/ml) and 7.5% (95% CI 6.7–8.3%). All thyroid disorders were more prevalent in women than in men: hypothyroidism (total) 13.3% (12.0–14.6%) vs 4.8% (3.8–5.7%), hyperthyroidism 1.1% (0.7–1.4%) vs 0.6% (0.3–1.0%), and positive thyroid autoimmunity 10.8% (9.6–12.1%) vs 4.1% (3.2–5.0%) respectively. Hypothyroidism was associated with the presence of positive anti-TPO antibodies (P<0.001) and elevated urinary iodine levels (P<0.001).

Conclusions: We report for the first time the prevalence of thyroid dysfunction in a representative sample of the Spanish population.

Disclosure: CIBERDEM, Ministry of Health, Spanish Society of Diabetes. FIS PI11/02755. SAEN.

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