title: The prevalence of undiagnosed thyroid disorders in a previously iodine-deficient area.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The aim of the present study was to analyze the current status of morphologic and functional thyroid abnormalities in a previously iodine-deficient area.
  
  
  METHODS
  The population based Study of Health in Pomerania (SHIP) comprised 4310 participants, aged 20-79 years. Thyroid function (thyrotropin [TSH] free triiodothyronine [FT(3)], and free thyroxine [FT(4)]) and serum autoantibodies to thyroperoxidase (TPOAb) were evaluated from blood samples. Thyroid structure and size were measured by ultrasound. Data from 3941 participants with no known thyroid disorders were analyzed.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The median iodine urine excretion was 12.4 microg/dL. The rate of decreased serum TSH levels (<0.3 mIU/L) was 11.3%; 2.2% of participants had suppressed serum TSH levels (<0.1 mIU/L). The prevalence of subclinical hyperthyroidism was 1.8%, the prevalence of overt hyperthyroidism 0.4%. Elevated TSH levels were found in 1.2% of individuals. Subclinical hypothyroidism was observed in 0.5%, overt hypothyroidism in 0.7% of the sample. Elevated TPOAb were detected in 7% of subjects, 4.1% of participants had TPOAb greater than 200 IU/mL. The prevalence of goiter was 35.9%. An inhomogeneous echo pattern was detected in 35.2% and nodules in 20.2% of participants. Diffuse autoimmune thyroiditis was diagnosed in 47 subjects (1.2%).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  There are a number of thyroid disorders in this previously iodine-deficient region. Further studies are required to investigate the change of thyroid disorders during iodine supplementation programs.
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology and Social Medicine, Ernst Moritz Arndt University, Greifswald, Germany. voelzke@uni-greifswald.de
authors.forename: Henry
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Völzke
authors.forename: Jan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Lüdemann
authors.forename: Daniel M
authors.initials: DM
authors.lastname: Robinson
authors.forename: Knut W
authors.initials: KW
authors.lastname: Spieker
authors.forename: Christian
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Schwahn
authors.forename: Axel
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kramer
authors.forename: Ulrich
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: John
authors.forename: Wieland
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Meng
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D005843:Geography; D005858:Germany / Q000453:epidemiology; D006801:Humans; D007455:Iodine / Q000172:deficiency* / Q000652:urine; D008875:Middle Aged; D015995:Prevalence; D013959:Thyroid Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology*
chemical_list: D007455:Iodine