Thyroid diseases

Most common thyroid diseases

Hypothyroidism

  • Low levels of thyroxine (T4) and elevated levels of thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH)
  • Prevalence according to studies in Northern Europe, Japan and USA (Vanderpump, 2011)
    • Women: 0.6-12 per 1000
    • Men: 1.3-4 per 1000

 

Hyperthyroidism

  • Elevated levels of thyroxine (T4) and low levels of thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH)
  • Prevalence: 0.5-2%
  • More common in women (Vanderpump, 2011).

 

Thyroid cancer

  • Not as common as the other thyroid diseases
  • Exhibits an increasing trend in annual incident cases
  • Incidence
    • Europe: 12.3-40.7 per 100 000 in men and women respectively
    • 3rd most common type of cancer for females, in 2012, in Cyprus (Ferlay et al, 2013).

 

Thyroid nodular disease

  • Lumps in the thyroid gland
  • Histological classification: hyperplastic, neoplastic, colloid, cystic and thyroiditic (Salabe, 2001)
  • Categories: benign or malignant
    • The majority of thyroid nodules are benign
    • About 9.2-13% are malignant leading to thyroid cancer (Kwak, 2013).
    • Prevalence: estimates depend on the demographic characteristics and screening method

 

Sources
Ferlay, J., et al. 2013. Cancer incidence and mortality patterns in Europe: estimates for 40 countries in 2012.European journal of cancer, 49(6), pp.1374-1403.

Kwak, J. Y. 2013. Indications for Fine Needle Aspiration in Thyroid Nodules. 
Endocrinology and Metabolism, 28 (2), pp. 81--85.

Salabe, G. 2001. Pathogenesis of thyroid nodules: histological classification?. 
Biomedicine & pharmacotherapy, 55(1), pp.39-53.

Vanderpump, M. 2011. The epidemiology of thyroid disease. 
British Medical Bulletin, 99, pp. 39–51.