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Original Article
Clinical Study Incidence and Prevalence of Overt Hypothyroidism and Causative Diseases in Korea as Determined Using Claims Data Provided by the Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service
Gi Hyeon Seo1, Jae Hoon Chung2
Endocrinology and Metabolism 2015;30(3):288-296.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3803/EnM.2015.30.3.288
Published online: January 5, 2015

1Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service, Seoul, Korea.

2Division of Endocrinology and Metabolism, Department of Medicine, Thyroid Center, Samsung Medical Center, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.

Corresponding author: Jae Hoon Chung. Division of Endocrinology and Metabolism, Department of Medicine, Thyroid Center, Samsung Medical Center, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, 81 Irwon-ro, Gangnam-gu, Seoul 06351, Korea. Tel: +82-2-3410-3434, Fax: +82-2-3410-3849, thyroid@skku.edu
• Received: August 8, 2014   • Revised: September 26, 2014   • Accepted: October 6, 2014

Copyright © 2015 Korean Endocrine Society

This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/) which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

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  • Background
    The incidence and prevalence of overt hypothyroidism have been reported to be 2 to 4/1,000 population/year and 8 to 13/1,000 population, respectively, in foreign countries. As there has been no nationwide survey to obtain data in Korea, the present study investigated the incidence and prevalence of overt hypothyroidism in Korea using claims data provided by the Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service. The proportions of causative diseases for hypothyroidism were also analyzed.
  • Methods
    This study was retrospectively performed with 541,969 Korean patients (92,832 men and 449,137 women), with overt hypothyroidism, treated with thyroid hormone between 2008 and 2012.
  • Results
    The incidence of overt hypothyroidism in Korea was 2.26/1,000 population/year (0.78 in men and 3.72 in women), and the prevalence was 14.28/1,000 population (4.40 in men and 24.03 in women). When patients with thyroid cancer were excluded, the incidence was 1.56/1,000 population/year (0.54 in men and 2.57 in women). The incidence increased with age, with peaks in and after the late 60s in men and in the early 50s in women. The prevalence peaked in the early 70s in men and in the late 50s in women.
  • Conclusion
    This is a report of the first nationwide investigation of the incidence and prevalence of overt hypothyroidism in Korea, although it is limited to patients treated with thyroid hormone.
  • Keywords: Hypothyroidism; Incidence; Prevalence; Korea
A prospective cohort study of the community population is required to determine the incidence and prevalence of hypothyroidism. However, such large-scale epidemiological studies face time and cost constraints. Therefore, investigations of incidence and prevalence are mainly conducted in limited community cohorts including middle-aged women, elderly patients, health examinees visiting clinics, or patients admitted to hospital. It is difficult to determine the exact incidence and prevalence of overt hypothyroidism because they differ according to the screening test for hypothyroidism or the study subjects. From reports from foreign countries, the prevalence of overt hypothyroidism that was not previously diagnosed is 0.2% to 0.4%, and the rate is about 1% to 2% when previously diagnosed cases and cases that develop after thyroidectomy or radioactive iodine (RAI) treatment are included. When subclinical hypothyroidism is also included, the overall incidence increases to about 5% to 6% [12345]. According to reports on health examinees or limited community cohorts, the incidence is 0.2% to 6.2% for overt hypothyroidism and 1.8% to 14.3% for subclinical hypothyroidism in Korea. Recently, an investigation was conducted on 3,491 community dwellers over 40 years old in the city of Ansung, Korea. The incidence of overt hypothyroidism was 0.3% in women and the incidence of subclinical hypothyroidism was 11.7% (6.3% in men and 16.1% in women) [678910111213]. All the reported studies in Korea are for limited cohorts; there has been no study on the whole population. Therefore, we investigated the incidence and prevalence of hypothyroidism in patients who have been prescribed thyroid hormone using claims data provided by the Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service (HIRA). The incidence and prevalence of hypothyroidism according to the causative diseases were also evaluated.
In this study, claims data for the prescription of thyroid hormone (levothyroxine) from HIRA for 2008 to 2012 were evaluated. The principal diagnosis and first subdiagnosis in the year before and year of thyroid hormone prescription were analyzed to evaluate the causative diseases that were treated with thyroid hormone. Hypothyroidism was defined in this study as overt hypothyroidism with long-term prescription of thyroid hormone. Subjects with short-term prescription of thyroid hormone (less than 60 days) were excluded to avoid inclusion of transient hypothyroidism. Patients who underwent total/partial thyroidectomies or RAI treatment with more than 5 mCi of 131I sodium iodide were included.
Patients with thyroid cancer were defined as those who underwent thyroidectomy or RAI treatment for thyroid cancer (C73) as a principal diagnosis or first subdiagnosis in the year before or year of thyroid hormone prescription. Patients with hyperthyroidism were defined as those who underwent thyroidectomy or RAI treatment for hyperthyroidism (E05) as a principal diagnosis or first subdiagnosis in the year before or year of thyroid hormone prescription. Patients with other thyroid diseases were defined as those treated for other thyroid diseases (E06, D34, E01, E04, and other codes) as a principal diagnosis or first subdiagnosis in the year before or year of thyroid hormone prescription. Causative diseases for thyroid hormone prescription were classified into seven categories: (1) thyroid cancer (C73); (2) hyperthyroidism (E05) following surgery or RAI treatment; (3) diseases other than C73 and E05 following surgery or RAI treatment; (4) Hashimoto's thyroiditis (E06.3); (5) other thyroiditis (E06 excluding E06.3); (6) benign thyroid tumors or goitrous diseases (D34, E01, and E04); and (7) diseases with prescription of thyroid hormone not covered by criteria (1) to (6).
The incidence of hypothyroidism was determined by defining new patients as those who did not have any prescription in 2007, but who were prescribed thyroid hormone for longer than 60 days after 2008. Age in the year of prescription was classified into 5-year groups. The population per gender and 5-year age group was determined using census data for 2010 from Statistics Korea (http://kosis.kr) and set as the population (Table 1). The prevalence of hypothyroidism and its incidence according to the causative disease were determined using the same method as for the incidence rate.
The incidence and prevalence of hypothyroidism treated with thyroid hormone in Korea
A total of 541,969 hypothyroidism patients (92,832 men and 449,137 women) were prescribed thyroid hormone between 2008 and 2012. Their mean age was 48.7±14.8 years. The number of new hypothyroidism patients who were prescribed thyroid hormone was 106,543 in 2008, 104,290 in 2009, 110,698 in 2010, 113,930 in 2011, and 106,508 in 2012. The annual incidence in 2008 to 2012 was 2.26 per 1,000 population (0.78 in men and 3.72 in women). It increased with age in men, with two peaks: a minor peak at 65 to 69 years (1.91 per 1,000) and a major peak at >85 years (3.25 per 1,000). It also increased with age in women, with a peak at 50 to 54 years (7.19 per 1,000) (Table 2). There was no statistically significant difference in incidence between years: the incidence was 2.22, 2.17, 2.31, 2.37, and 2.22 per 1,000 in 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, and 2012, respectively. The number of patients prescribed thyroid hormone for longer than 60 days in 2012 was 685,101 (104,799 men and 580,302 women), with a prevalence of 14.28 per 1,000 population (4.40 in men and 24.03 in women). When the prevalence was analyzed according to age, it started to increase after the 20s in men, reaching a peak of 12.15 per 1,000 in the early 70s, but did not increase thereafter. In women, it also started to increase from the 20s, reaching a peak of 55.85 per 1,000 in the late 50s, and declining thereafter (Table 3).
The prevalence of hypothyroidism treated with thyroid hormone in Korea according to the causative diseases
We classified 541,969 hypothyroidism patients prescribed thyroid hormone between 2008 and 2012 into seven categories according to the causative disease: (1) 167,335 patients (30.9%) with thyroid cancer (C73); (2) 4,811 patients (0.9%) with hyperthyroidism (E05); (3) 12,775 patients (2.4%) with diseases other than C73 and E05 following surgery or RAI treatment; (4) 37,841 patients (7.0%) with Hashimoto's thyroiditis (E06.3); (5) 22,175 patients (4.1%) with other thyroiditis (E06 excluding E06.3); (6) 90,688 patients (16.7%) with benign thyroid tumors or goitrous diseases (D34, E01, and E04); and (7) 206,344 patients (38.1%) with diseases with prescription of thyroid hormone not covered by criteria (1) to (6) (Tables 4,5,6,7,8,9,10). The annual incidence per 1,000 population was 0.70, 0.02, 0.05, 0.16, 0.09, 0.38, and 0.86 for thyroid cancer, hyperthyroidism, other diseases following surgery or RAI treatment, Hashimoto's thyroiditis, other thyroiditis, benign thyroid tumors or goitrous diseases, and diseases with prescription of thyroid hormone not covered by criteria (1) to (6), respectively. When 167,335 patients with thyroid cancer were excluded, there were 374,634 hypothyroidism patients, and the annual incidence of hyperthyroidism was 1.56 per 1,000 population (1.68 in 2008, 1.52 in 2009, 1.61 in 2010, 1.58 in 2011, and 1.41 in 2012).
For thyroid cancer, the incidence was highest in the 50s in both men and women; for Hashimoto's thyroiditis and other thyroiditis, the incidence was highest in the 60s in men and the early 30s and early 50s in women. For benign thyroid tumors or goitrous diseases, the incidence was highest in the 60s in men and the 50s in women.
This study was the first investigation of the entire population of Korea. Although the study used nationwide claims data provided by HIRA, the data are reliable considering that most of the Korean population has medical insurance provided by the government. The incidence and prevalence of hypothyroidism reported previously in Korea were limited to health examinees, middle-aged women, or elderly patients; hence, the subjects were not a representative sample of the entire population. In this study, hypothyroidism was defined as prescription of thyroid hormone for more than 60 days, rather than by assessing thyroid hormone profiles; hence, the results may differ from other studies. Patients prescribed thyroid hormone for reasons other than treatment of hypothyroidism may have been included. Such patients may have included thyroid cancer patients who did not undergo surgery, patients with large thyroid tumors or goiters, and patients with other diseases such as obesity. By contrast, patients with euthyroid Hashimoto's thyroiditis, thyroiditis with transient hypothyroidism, subclinical hypothyroidism, and undiagnosed overt hypothyroidism may have been excluded from this investigation because they were not prescribed thyroid hormone.
The number of new patients with hypothyroidism between 2008 and 2012 was 108,394 per year (18,566 men and 89,827 women), and the mean annual incidence was 2.26/1,000 population (0.78 in men and 3.72 in women). When patients with thyroid cancer (C73) were excluded, the annual incidence decreased to 1.56/1,000 population (0.54 in men and 2.57 in women). The incidence was similar to that reported by Chung et al. [6] in 1999 (1.6/1,000 population; 0.6 in men and 2.8 in women). When patients with thyroid cancer were added, the rate rose by 40% [6]. The annual incidence of hypothyroidism in other countries was approximately 2.0 to 4.0/1,000 population, not very different from that in Korea [1]. In this study, the incidence of hypothyroidism increased with age in both men and women, peaking in the late 60s and at >85 years in men and in the early 50s in women. The annual incidence did not change significantly between 2008 and 2012, but it decreased if thyroid cancer was excluded.
The number of hypothyroidism patients in 2012 was 685,101 (104,799 men and 580,302 women), with a prevalence of 14.28 per 1,000 population (4.40 in men and 24.03 in women). The prevalence started to increase after the 20s in both men and women, but peaked in the early 70s in men and in the late 50s in women. In the 1999 report by Chung et al. [6], the prevalence of overt hypothyroidism was 2.8 per 1,000 population (1.1 in men and in 4.9 women). It increased substantially in both men and women between 1999 and 2012. This may be because of the rapid increase in the number of thyroid cancer patients, as well as a natural increase. In reports from foreign countries, the incidence of overt hypothyroidism was approximately 7.9 to 13 per 1,000 population [11415].
When we classified overt hypothyroidism into seven categories according to the causative disease, Hashimoto's thyroiditis accounted for only 7.0% of cases; miscellaneous causes of hypothyroidism, which presumably included a significant number of cases of Hashimoto's thyroiditis, accounted for 38.1% of cases. In 2013 Seo et al. [16] reported that every year an average of 2,896 hyperthyroidism patients were treated with RAI and an average of 316 patients underwent thyroidectomy. Therefore, an annual average of 3,212 hyperthyroidism patients were treated with RAI therapy or surgery. The present study found an annual average of 962 patients (4,811 patients over 5 years) were prescribed thyroid hormone after RAI therapy or surgery for hyperthyroidism, accounting for -30% of cases. Hypothyroidism after RAI therapy or surgery for hyperthyroidism was most frequent in the 50s in both men and women.
In conclusion, this study was the first investigation of the entire Korean population. We investigated the incidence and prevalence of hypothyroidism in patients prescribed thyroid hormone using claims data provided by HIRA. A total of 541,969 patients (92,832 men and 449,137 women) who were prescribed thyroid hormone for longer than 60 days between 2008 and 2012 were analyzed. The incidence and prevalence of hypothyroidism were 2.26 per 1,000 population (0.78 in men and 3.72 in women) and 14.28 per 1,000 population (4.40 in men and 24.03 in women), respectively. The annual incidence per 1,000 population was 0.70, 0.02, 0.05, 0.16, 0.09, 0.38, and 0.86 for thyroid cancer, hyperthyroidism, other diseases following surgery or RAI treatment, Hashimoto's thyroiditis, other thyroiditis, benign thyroid tumors or goitrous diseases, and other diseases with prescription of thyroid hormone, respectively. The annual incidence of hypothyroidism when thyroid cancer was excluded was 1.56 per 1,000 population.
Acknowledgements
This study was supported by the Korean Endocrine Society.

CONFLICTS OF INTEREST: No potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported.

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Table 1

The Number of Korean Population according to Age in 2010

enm-30-288-i001.jpg
All Men Women
Age, yr
 ≤4 2,219,084 1,142,220 1,076,864
 5-9 2,394,663 1,243,294 1,151,369
 10-14 3,173,226 1,654,964 1,518,262
 15-19 3,438,414 1,826,179 1,612,235
 20-24 3,055,420 1,625,371 1,430,049
 25-29 3,538,949 1,802,805 1,736,144
 30-34 3,695,348 1,866,397 1,828,951
 35-39 4,099,147 2,060,233 2,038,914
 40-44 4,131,423 2,071,431 2,059,992
 45-49 4,073,358 2,044,641 2,028,717
 50-54 3,798,131 1,887,973 1,910,158
 55-59 2,766,695 1,360,747 1,405,948
 60-64 2,182,236 1,057,035 1,125,201
 65-69 1,812,168 833,242 978,926
 70-74 1,566,014 672,894 893,120
 75-79 1,084,367 410,726 673,641
 80-84 595,509 186,008 409,501
 ≥85 366,609 94,736 271,873
Total 47,990,761 23,840,896 24,149,865
Table 2

Annual Mean Incidence of Patients with Hypothyroidism Taking Levothyroxine from 2008 to 2012

enm-30-288-i002.jpg
Men Women All
Incidencea Number Incidencea Number Incidencea Number
Age, yr
 ≤4 0.30 1,718 0.27 1,459 0.29 3,177
 5-9 0.06 362 0.19 1,102 0.12 1,464
 10-14 0.07 579 0.32 2,466 0.19 3,045
 15-19 0.09 807 0.48 3,843 0.27 4,650
 20-24 0.14 1,115 1.10 7,881 0.59 8,996
 25-29 0.30 2,718 2.81 24,330 1.53 27,048
 30-34 0.54 5,016 4.43 40,499 2.46 45,515
 35-39 0.78 7,993 4.39 44,770 2.57 52,763
 40-44 0.92 9,518 4.81 49,514 2.86 59,032
 45-49 1.08 11,034 6.14 62,297 3.60 73,331
 50-54 1.34 12,650 7.19 68,676 4.28 81,326
 55-59 1.54 10,476 6.96 48,894 4.29 59,370
 60-64 1.72 9,091 6.26 35,203 4.06 44,294
 65-69 1.91 7,971 5.44 26,641 3.82 34,612
 70-74 1.65 5,546 3.77 16,818 2.86 22,364
 75-79 1.58 3,251 2.59 8,735 2.21 11,986
 80-84 1.56 1,448 1.79 3,675 1.72 5,123
 ≥85 3.25 1,539 1.72 2,334 2.11 3,873
Total 0.78 92,832 3.72 449,137 2.26 541,969

aIncidence, per population 1,000/year, adjusted by the number of population with same age.

Table 3

Prevalence of Patients with Hypothyroidism Taking Levothyroxine in 2012

enm-30-288-i003.jpg
Men Women All
Prevalencea Number Prevalencea Number Prevalencea Number
Age, yr
 ≤4 1.42 1,618 1.37 1,470 1.39 3,088
 5-9 0.65 805 0.87 998 0.75 1,803
 10-14 0.50 832 1.40 2,121 0.93 2,953
 15-19 0.47 853 1.92 3,098 1.15 3,951
 20-24 0.66 1,071 3.73 5,334 2.10 6,405
 25-29 1.12 2,027 8.48 14,715 4.73 16,742
 30-34 2.34 4,371 19.56 35,769 10.86 40,140
 35-39 3.46 7,136 22.95 46,786 13.15 53,922
 40-44 4.90 10,140 28.82 59,362 16.82 69,502
 45-49 5.50 11,248 33.48 67,930 19.44 79,178
 50-54 7.65 14,442 47.85 91,406 27.87 105,848
 55-59 9.69 13,180 55.85 78,521 33.14 91,701
 60-64 10.33 10,921 52.85 59,469 32.26 70,390
 65-69 11.83 9,854 46.63 45,650 30.63 55,504
 70-74 12.15 8,178 39.51 35,291 27.76 43,469
 75-79 11.71 4,810 29.76 20,050 22.93 24,860
 80-84 11.77 2,190 21.54 8,821 18.49 11,011
 ≥85 11.85 1,123 12.91 3,511 12.64 4,634
Total 4.40 104,799 24.03 580,302 14.28 685,101

aPrevalence, per population 1,000/year, adjusted by the number of population with same age.

Table 4

Annual Mean Incidence of Patients with Thyroid Cancer Taking Levothyroxine from 2008 to 2012

enm-30-288-i004.jpg
Men Women All
Incidence Number Incidence Number Incidence Number
Age, yr
 ≤4 0 0 0 1 0 1
 5-9 0 7 0 14 0 21
 10-14 0 26 0.01 101 0.01 127
 15-19 0.01 112 0.07 525 0.04 637
 20-24 0.04 336 0.25 1,773 0.14 2,109
 25-29 0.12 1,099 0.64 5,524 0.37 6,623
 30-34 0.24 2,283 1.14 10,442 0.69 12,725
 35-39 0.36 3,707 1.54 15,677 0.95 19,384
 40-44 0.4 4,194 1.89 19,489 1.15 23,683
 45-49 0.42 4,295 2.26 22,931 1.34 27,226
 50-54 0.45 4,275 2.47 23,611 1.47 27,886
 55-59 0.43 2,914 2.26 15,872 1.36 18,786
 60-64 0.39 2,060 1.89 10,641 1.16 12,701
 65-69 0.37 1,528 1.44 7,057 0.95 8,585
 70-74 0.23 781 0.86 3,829 0.59 4,610
 75-79 0.15 315 0.42 1,399 0.32 1,714
 80-84 0.08 77 0.17 345 0.14 422
 ≥85 0.05 22 0.05 73 0.05 95
Total 0.24 28,031 1.15 139,304 0.7 167,335
Table 5

Annual Mean Incidence of Patients with Hyperthyroidism Taking Levothyroxine after Thyroidectomy or Radioiodine Ablation from 2008 to 2012

enm-30-288-i005.jpg
Men Women All
Incidence Number Incidence Number Incidence Number
Age, yr
 ≤4 0 0 0 0 0 0
 5-9 0 0 0 0 0 0
 10-14 0 1 0 7 0 8
 15-19 0 26 0.01 107 0.01 133
 20-24 0.01 62 0.03 211 0.02 273
 25-29 0.01 132 0.04 351 0.03 483
 30-34 0.02 165 0.04 355 0.03 520
 35-39 0.02 231 0.04 432 0.03 663
 40-44 0.02 213 0.04 438 0.03 651
 45-49 0.02 202 0.04 421 0.03 623
 50-54 0.02 165 0.04 383 0.03 548
 55-59 0.02 109 0.04 254 0.03 363
 60-64 0.01 71 0.03 180 0.02 251
 65-69 0.01 48 0.03 133 0.02 181
 70-74 0 14 0.01 57 0.01 71
 75-79 0 3 0.01 31 0.01 34
 80-84 0 0 0 8 0 8
 ≥85 0 1 0 0 0 1
Total 0.01 1,443 0.03 3,368 0.02 4,811
Table 6

Annual Mean Incidence of Patients with Other Thyroid Disease Taking Levothyroxine after Thyroidectomy or Radioiodine Ablation from 2008 to 2012

enm-30-288-i006.jpg
Men Women All
Incidence Number Incidence Number Incidence Number
Age, yr
 ≤4 0 0 0 0 0 0
 5-9 0 0 0 3 0 3
 10-14 0 3 0 12 0 15
 15-19 0 18 0.01 74 0.01 92
 20-24 0 18 0.02 130 0.01 148
 25-29 0 28 0.03 276 0.02 304
 30-34 0.01 74 0.05 489 0.03 563
 35-39 0.01 127 0.08 846 0.05 973
 40-44 0.02 179 0.10 1,076 0.06 1,255
 45-49 0.02 233 0.17 1,674 0.09 1,907
 50-54 0.04 348 0.20 1,888 0.12 2,236
 55-59 0.05 324 0.21 1,472 0.13 1,796
 60-64 0.05 273 0.21 1,175 0.13 1,448
 65-69 0.05 223 0.19 906 0.12 1,129
 70-74 0.03 115 0.11 495 0.08 610
 75-79 0.03 52 0.05 182 0.04 234
 80-84 0.02 15 0.02 38 0.02 53
 ≥85 0 1 0.01 8 0 9
Total 0.02 2,031 0.09 10,744 0.05 12,775
Table 7

Annual Mean Incidence of Patients with Hashimoto's Thyroiditis Taking Levothyroxine from 2008 to 2012

enm-30-288-i007.jpg
Men Women All
Incidence Number Incidence Number Incidence Number
Age, yr
 ≤4 0 6 0 9 0 15
 5-9 0.01 34 0.05 286 0.03 320
 10-14 0.01 55 0.09 650 0.04 705
 15-19 0 43 0.06 492 0.03 535
 20-24 0 38 0.13 924 0.06 962
 25-29 0.01 96 0.33 2,891 0.17 2,987
 30-34 0.02 209 0.50 4,601 0.26 4,810
 35-39 0.03 327 0.38 3,853 0.20 4,180
 40-44 0.04 376 0.35 3,578 0.19 3,954
 45-49 0.05 466 0.43 4,406 0.24 4,872
 50-54 0.05 510 0.51 4,868 0.28 5,378
 55-59 0.07 463 0.47 3,298 0.27 3,761
 60-64 0.07 395 0.36 2,016 0.22 2,411
 65-69 0.07 307 0.26 1,278 0.17 1,585
 70-74 0.05 177 0.14 628 0.10 805
 75-79 0.04 91 0.09 307 0.07 398
 80-84 0.05 44 0.04 86 0.04 130
 ≥85 0.03 12 0.02 21 0.02 33
Total 0.03 3,649 0.28 34,192 0.16 37,841
Table 8

Annual Mean Incidence of Patients with Other Thyroiditis Taking Levothyroxine from 2008 to 2012

enm-30-288-i008.jpg
Men Women All
Incidence Number Incidence Number Incidence Number
Age, yr
 ≤4 0 14 0 12 0 26
 5-9 0 9 0.01 65 0.01 74
 10-14 0 24 0.03 192 0.01 216
 15-19 0.01 48 0.03 277 0.02 325
 20-24 0 38 0.07 513 0.04 551
 25-29 0.01 68 0.21 1,825 0.11 1,893
 30-34 0.01 131 0.30 2,780 0.16 2,911
 35-39 0.02 208 0.23 2,385 0.13 2,593
 40-44 0.03 275 0.22 2,231 0.12 2,506
 45-49 0.03 276 0.27 2,703 0.15 2,979
 50-54 0.03 321 0.29 2,817 0.17 3,138
 55-59 0.04 258 0.24 1,702 0.14 1,960
 60-64 0.04 221 0.18 1,011 0.11 1,232
 65-69 0.04 180 0.15 720 0.10 900
 70-74 0.03 113 0.09 404 0.07 517
 75-79 0.03 66 0.05 178 0.05 244
 80-84 0.03 25 0.02 51 0.03 76
 ≥85 0.02 9 0.02 25 0.02 34
Total 0.02 2,284 0.16 19,891 0.09 22,175
Table 9

Annual Mean Incidence of Patients with Benign Thyroid Tumor or Goiter Taking Levothyroxine from 2008 to 2012

enm-30-288-i009.jpg
Men Women All
Incidence Number Incidence Number Incidence Number
Age, yr
 ≤4 0 7 0 12 0 19
 5-9 0 20 0.02 142 0.01 162
 10-14 0.01 66 0.05 417 0.03 483
 15-19 0.01 62 0.08 678 0.04 740
 20-24 0.01 85 0.17 1,236 0.09 1,321
 25-29 0.02 215 0.37 3,216 0.19 3,431
 30-34 0.04 377 0.58 5,294 0.31 5,671
 35-39 0.07 670 0.66 6,706 0.36 7,376
 40-44 0.08 878 0.81 8,384 0.45 9,262
 45-49 0.12 1,236 1.18 11,961 0.65 13,197
 50-54 0.17 1,600 1.48 14,148 0.83 15,748
 55-59 0.22 1,483 1.51 10,649 0.88 12,132
 60-64 0.23 1,234 1.35 7,615 0.81 8,849
 65-69 0.25 1,052 1.13 5,552 0.73 6,604
 70-74 0.19 635 0.66 2,946 0.46 3,581
 75-79 0.12 249 0.38 1,266 0.28 1,515
 80-84 0.08 70 0.19 396 0.16 466
 ≥85 0.06 27 0.08 104 0.07 131
Total 0.08 9,966 0.67 80,722 0.38 90,688
Table 10

Annual Mean Incidence of Patients with Other Hypothyroidism Taking Levothyroxine from 2008 to 2012

enm-30-288-i010.jpg
Men Women All
Incidence Number Incidence Number Incidence Number
Age, yr
 ≤4 0.30 1,691 0.26 1,425 0.28 3,116
 5-9 0.05 292 0.10 592 0.07 884
 10-14 0.05 404 0.14 1,087 0.09 1,491
 15-19 0.05 498 0.21 1,690 0.13 2,188
 20-24 0.07 538 0.43 3,094 0.24 3,632
 25-29 0.12 1,080 1.18 10,247 0.64 11,327
 30-34 0.19 1,777 1.81 16,538 0.99 18,315
 35-39 0.26 2,723 1.46 14,871 0.86 17,594
 40-44 0.33 3,403 1.39 14,318 0.86 17,721
 45-49 0.42 4,326 1.79 18,201 1.11 22,527
 50-54 0.58 5,431 2.19 20,961 1.39 26,392
 55-59 0.72 4,925 2.23 15,647 1.49 20,572
 60-64 0.92 4,837 2.23 12,565 1.59 17,402
 65-69 1.11 4,633 2.25 10,995 1.72 15,628
 70-74 1.10 3,711 1.89 8,459 1.55 12,170
 75-79 1.21 2,475 1.59 5,372 1.45 7,847
 80-84 1.31 1,217 1.34 2,751 1.33 3,968
 ≥85 3.10 1,467 1.55 2,103 1.95 3,570
Total 0.38 45,428 1.33 160,916 0.86 206,344

Figure & Data

References

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    Incidence and Prevalence of Overt Hypothyroidism and Causative Diseases in Korea as Determined Using Claims Data Provided by the Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service
    Incidence and Prevalence of Overt Hypothyroidism and Causative Diseases in Korea as Determined Using Claims Data Provided by the Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service
    AllMenWomen
    Age, yr
     ≤42,219,0841,142,2201,076,864
     5-92,394,6631,243,2941,151,369
     10-143,173,2261,654,9641,518,262
     15-193,438,4141,826,1791,612,235
     20-243,055,4201,625,3711,430,049
     25-293,538,9491,802,8051,736,144
     30-343,695,3481,866,3971,828,951
     35-394,099,1472,060,2332,038,914
     40-444,131,4232,071,4312,059,992
     45-494,073,3582,044,6412,028,717
     50-543,798,1311,887,9731,910,158
     55-592,766,6951,360,7471,405,948
     60-642,182,2361,057,0351,125,201
     65-691,812,168833,242978,926
     70-741,566,014672,894893,120
     75-791,084,367410,726673,641
     80-84595,509186,008409,501
     ≥85366,60994,736271,873
    Total47,990,76123,840,89624,149,865
    MenWomenAll
    IncidenceaNumberIncidenceaNumberIncidenceaNumber
    Age, yr
     ≤40.301,7180.271,4590.293,177
     5-90.063620.191,1020.121,464
     10-140.075790.322,4660.193,045
     15-190.098070.483,8430.274,650
     20-240.141,1151.107,8810.598,996
     25-290.302,7182.8124,3301.5327,048
     30-340.545,0164.4340,4992.4645,515
     35-390.787,9934.3944,7702.5752,763
     40-440.929,5184.8149,5142.8659,032
     45-491.0811,0346.1462,2973.6073,331
     50-541.3412,6507.1968,6764.2881,326
     55-591.5410,4766.9648,8944.2959,370
     60-641.729,0916.2635,2034.0644,294
     65-691.917,9715.4426,6413.8234,612
     70-741.655,5463.7716,8182.8622,364
     75-791.583,2512.598,7352.2111,986
     80-841.561,4481.793,6751.725,123
     ≥853.251,5391.722,3342.113,873
    Total0.7892,8323.72449,1372.26541,969
    MenWomenAll
    PrevalenceaNumberPrevalenceaNumberPrevalenceaNumber
    Age, yr
     ≤41.421,6181.371,4701.393,088
     5-90.658050.879980.751,803
     10-140.508321.402,1210.932,953
     15-190.478531.923,0981.153,951
     20-240.661,0713.735,3342.106,405
     25-291.122,0278.4814,7154.7316,742
     30-342.344,37119.5635,76910.8640,140
     35-393.467,13622.9546,78613.1553,922
     40-444.9010,14028.8259,36216.8269,502
     45-495.5011,24833.4867,93019.4479,178
     50-547.6514,44247.8591,40627.87105,848
     55-599.6913,18055.8578,52133.1491,701
     60-6410.3310,92152.8559,46932.2670,390
     65-6911.839,85446.6345,65030.6355,504
     70-7412.158,17839.5135,29127.7643,469
     75-7911.714,81029.7620,05022.9324,860
     80-8411.772,19021.548,82118.4911,011
     ≥8511.851,12312.913,51112.644,634
    Total4.40104,79924.03580,30214.28685,101
    MenWomenAll
    IncidenceNumberIncidenceNumberIncidenceNumber
    Age, yr
     ≤4000101
     5-907014021
     10-140260.011010.01127
     15-190.011120.075250.04637
     20-240.043360.251,7730.142,109
     25-290.121,0990.645,5240.376,623
     30-340.242,2831.1410,4420.6912,725
     35-390.363,7071.5415,6770.9519,384
     40-440.44,1941.8919,4891.1523,683
     45-490.424,2952.2622,9311.3427,226
     50-540.454,2752.4723,6111.4727,886
     55-590.432,9142.2615,8721.3618,786
     60-640.392,0601.8910,6411.1612,701
     65-690.371,5281.447,0570.958,585
     70-740.237810.863,8290.594,610
     75-790.153150.421,3990.321,714
     80-840.08770.173450.14422
     ≥850.05220.05730.0595
    Total0.2428,0311.15139,3040.7167,335
    MenWomenAll
    IncidenceNumberIncidenceNumberIncidenceNumber
    Age, yr
     ≤4000000
     5-9000000
     10-14010708
     15-190260.011070.01133
     20-240.01620.032110.02273
     25-290.011320.043510.03483
     30-340.021650.043550.03520
     35-390.022310.044320.03663
     40-440.022130.044380.03651
     45-490.022020.044210.03623
     50-540.021650.043830.03548
     55-590.021090.042540.03363
     60-640.01710.031800.02251
     65-690.01480.031330.02181
     70-740140.01570.0171
     75-79030.01310.0134
     80-84000808
     ≥85010001
    Total0.011,4430.033,3680.024,811
    MenWomenAll
    IncidenceNumberIncidenceNumberIncidenceNumber
    Age, yr
     ≤4000000
     5-9000303
     10-1403012015
     15-190180.01740.0192
     20-240180.021300.01148
     25-290280.032760.02304
     30-340.01740.054890.03563
     35-390.011270.088460.05973
     40-440.021790.101,0760.061,255
     45-490.022330.171,6740.091,907
     50-540.043480.201,8880.122,236
     55-590.053240.211,4720.131,796
     60-640.052730.211,1750.131,448
     65-690.052230.199060.121,129
     70-740.031150.114950.08610
     75-790.03520.051820.04234
     80-840.02150.02380.0253
     ≥85010.01809
    Total0.022,0310.0910,7440.0512,775
    MenWomenAll
    IncidenceNumberIncidenceNumberIncidenceNumber
    Age, yr
     ≤40609015
     5-90.01340.052860.03320
     10-140.01550.096500.04705
     15-190430.064920.03535
     20-240380.139240.06962
     25-290.01960.332,8910.172,987
     30-340.022090.504,6010.264,810
     35-390.033270.383,8530.204,180
     40-440.043760.353,5780.193,954
     45-490.054660.434,4060.244,872
     50-540.055100.514,8680.285,378
     55-590.074630.473,2980.273,761
     60-640.073950.362,0160.222,411
     65-690.073070.261,2780.171,585
     70-740.051770.146280.10805
     75-790.04910.093070.07398
     80-840.05440.04860.04130
     ≥850.03120.02210.0233
    Total0.033,6490.2834,1920.1637,841
    MenWomenAll
    IncidenceNumberIncidenceNumberIncidenceNumber
    Age, yr
     ≤4014012026
     5-9090.01650.0174
     10-140240.031920.01216
     15-190.01480.032770.02325
     20-240380.075130.04551
     25-290.01680.211,8250.111,893
     30-340.011310.302,7800.162,911
     35-390.022080.232,3850.132,593
     40-440.032750.222,2310.122,506
     45-490.032760.272,7030.152,979
     50-540.033210.292,8170.173,138
     55-590.042580.241,7020.141,960
     60-640.042210.181,0110.111,232
     65-690.041800.157200.10900
     70-740.031130.094040.07517
     75-790.03660.051780.05244
     80-840.03250.02510.0376
     ≥850.0290.02250.0234
    Total0.022,2840.1619,8910.0922,175
    MenWomenAll
    IncidenceNumberIncidenceNumberIncidenceNumber
    Age, yr
     ≤407012019
     5-90200.021420.01162
     10-140.01660.054170.03483
     15-190.01620.086780.04740
     20-240.01850.171,2360.091,321
     25-290.022150.373,2160.193,431
     30-340.043770.585,2940.315,671
     35-390.076700.666,7060.367,376
     40-440.088780.818,3840.459,262
     45-490.121,2361.1811,9610.6513,197
     50-540.171,6001.4814,1480.8315,748
     55-590.221,4831.5110,6490.8812,132
     60-640.231,2341.357,6150.818,849
     65-690.251,0521.135,5520.736,604
     70-740.196350.662,9460.463,581
     75-790.122490.381,2660.281,515
     80-840.08700.193960.16466
     ≥850.06270.081040.07131
    Total0.089,9660.6780,7220.3890,688
    MenWomenAll
    IncidenceNumberIncidenceNumberIncidenceNumber
    Age, yr
     ≤40.301,6910.261,4250.283,116
     5-90.052920.105920.07884
     10-140.054040.141,0870.091,491
     15-190.054980.211,6900.132,188
     20-240.075380.433,0940.243,632
     25-290.121,0801.1810,2470.6411,327
     30-340.191,7771.8116,5380.9918,315
     35-390.262,7231.4614,8710.8617,594
     40-440.333,4031.3914,3180.8617,721
     45-490.424,3261.7918,2011.1122,527
     50-540.585,4312.1920,9611.3926,392
     55-590.724,9252.2315,6471.4920,572
     60-640.924,8372.2312,5651.5917,402
     65-691.114,6332.2510,9951.7215,628
     70-741.103,7111.898,4591.5512,170
     75-791.212,4751.595,3721.457,847
     80-841.311,2171.342,7511.333,968
     ≥853.101,4671.552,1031.953,570
    Total0.3845,4281.33160,9160.86206,344
    Table 1 The Number of Korean Population according to Age in 2010

    Table 2 Annual Mean Incidence of Patients with Hypothyroidism Taking Levothyroxine from 2008 to 2012

    aIncidence, per population 1,000/year, adjusted by the number of population with same age.

    Table 3 Prevalence of Patients with Hypothyroidism Taking Levothyroxine in 2012

    aPrevalence, per population 1,000/year, adjusted by the number of population with same age.

    Table 4 Annual Mean Incidence of Patients with Thyroid Cancer Taking Levothyroxine from 2008 to 2012

    Table 5 Annual Mean Incidence of Patients with Hyperthyroidism Taking Levothyroxine after Thyroidectomy or Radioiodine Ablation from 2008 to 2012

    Table 6 Annual Mean Incidence of Patients with Other Thyroid Disease Taking Levothyroxine after Thyroidectomy or Radioiodine Ablation from 2008 to 2012

    Table 7 Annual Mean Incidence of Patients with Hashimoto's Thyroiditis Taking Levothyroxine from 2008 to 2012

    Table 8 Annual Mean Incidence of Patients with Other Thyroiditis Taking Levothyroxine from 2008 to 2012

    Table 9 Annual Mean Incidence of Patients with Benign Thyroid Tumor or Goiter Taking Levothyroxine from 2008 to 2012

    Table 10 Annual Mean Incidence of Patients with Other Hypothyroidism Taking Levothyroxine from 2008 to 2012

    Table 1

    Table 2

    Table 3

    Table 4

    Table 5

    Table 6

    Table 7

    Table 8

    Table 9

    Table 10

    Endocrinol Metab : Endocrinology and Metabolism
    © Korean Endocrine Society.
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