Gender, race and socioeconomic influence on diagnosis and treatment of thyroid disorders in the Brazilian Longitudinal Study of Adult Health (ELSA-Brasil)

Brazilian Journal of Medical and Biological Research

R.d. Olmos¹  R.c. De Figueiredo¹  E.m. Aquino¹  P.a. Lotufo¹  I.m. Bensenor¹ 

关键词: Thyroid dysfunction;    Treatment of thyroid disorders;    Levothyroxine;    Gender;    Socioeconomic status;    Race;   

DOI  :  10.1590/1414-431X20154445

来源: SciELO

【 摘 要 】

Thyroid diseases are common, and use of levothyroxine is increasing worldwide. We investigated the influence of gender, race and socioeconomic status on the diagnosis and treatment of thyroid disorders using data from the Brazilian Longitudinal Study of Adult Health (ELSA-Brasil), a multicenter cohort study of civil servants (35-74 years of age) from six Brazilian cities. Diagnosis of thyroid dysfunction was by thyrotropin (TSH), and free thyroxine (FT4) if TSH was altered, and the use of specific medications. Multivariate logistic regression models were constructed using overt hyperthyroidism/hypothyroidism and levothyroxine use as dependent variables and sociodemographic characteristics as independent variables. The frequencies of overt hyper- and hypothyroidism were 0.7 and 7.4%, respectively. Using whites as the reference ethnicity, brown, and black race were protective for overt hypothyroidism (OR=0.76, 95%CI=0.64-0.89, and OR=0.53, 95%CI=0.43-0.67, respectively, and black race was associated with overt hyperthyroidism (OR=1.82, 95%CI=1.06-3.11). Frequency of hypothyroidism treatment was higher in women, browns, highly educated participants and those with high net family incomes. After multivariate adjustment, levothyroxine use was associated with female gender (OR=6.06, 95%CI=3.19-11.49) and high net family income (OR=3.23, 95%CI=1.02-10.23). Frequency of hyperthyroidism treatment was higher in older than in younger individuals. Sociodemographic factors strongly influenced the diagnosis and treatment of thyroid disorders, including the use of levothyroxine.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
 All the contents of this journal, except where otherwise noted, is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License