Thyroid hormones for euthyroid patients with simple goiter growing over time: a survey of European thyroid specialists

Enrico Papini, Roberto Attanasio*, Miloš Žarković, Endre Vezekenyi Nagy, Roberto Negro, Petros Perros, Juan Carlos Galofré, Chagit Adler Cohen, Ersin Akarsu, Maria Alevizaki, Göksun Ayvaz, Tomasz Bednarczuk, Biljana Nedeljković Beleslin, Eszter Berta, Miklos Bodor, Anna Maria Borissova, Mihail Boyanov, Camille Buffet, Maria Cristina Burlacu, Jasmina ĆirićJuan J. Díez, Harald Dobnig, Valentin Fadeyev, Benjamin C.T. Field, Dagmar Führer-Sakel, Tommi Hakala, Jan Jiskra, Peter Andreas Kopp, Michael Krebs, Michal Kršek, Mikael Lantz, Ivica Lazúrová, Laurence Leenhardt, Vitaliy Luchytskiy, Francisca Marques Puga, Anne McGowan, Miguel Melo, Saara Metso, Carla Moran, Tatyana Morgunova, Dan Alexandru Niculescu, Božidar Perić, Tereza Planck, Eyal Robenshtok, Patrick Olivier Rosselet, Marek Ruchala, Kamilla Ryom Riis, Alla Shepelkevich, Mykola Tronko, David Unuane, Irfan Vardarli, W. Edward Visser, Andromachi Vryonidou, Younes Ramazan Younes, Laszlo Hegedüs

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalJournal articleResearchpeer-review

Abstract

Background: Treatment of simple goiter (SG) growing over time with thyroid hormone (TH) therapy is discouraged by international guidelines. Purpose: To ascertain views of European thyroid specialists about TH treatment for euthyroid patients with growing SG and explore associations with management choice. Methods: Online survey on the use of TH for growing SG among thyroid experts from 28 European countries. Results: The response rate was 31.5% (5430/17,247). Most respondents were endocrinologists. Twenty-eight percent asserted that TH therapy may be indicated in euthyroid patients with a growing SG. National and regional differences were noted, from 7% of positive responses in The Netherlands to 78% in Czech Republic (p < 0.0001). TH was more frequently prescribed by respondents over 40 years old (OR 1.77, 2.13, 2.41 if 41–50, 51–60, >60, respectively), and working in areas of former iodine insufficiency (OR 1.24, 95% CI 1.03–1.50). TH was less frequently prescribed by endocrinologists (OR 0.77, 95% CI 0.62-0.94) and respondents working in Southern Europe (OR 0.40, 95% CI 0.33–0.48), Northern Europe (OR 0.28, 95% CI 0.22–0.36) and Western Asia (OR 0.16, 95% CI 0.11–0.24) compared to Western Europe. Associations with respondents’ sex, country, availability of national thyroid guidelines, and gross national income per capita were absent or weak. Conclusions: Almost a third of European thyroid specialists support treating SG with TH, contrary to current guidelines and recommendations. This calls for urgent attention.

Original languageEnglish
JournalEndocrine
ISSN1355-008X
DOIs
Publication statusE-pub ahead of print - 2024

Keywords

  • Goiter
  • Levothyroxine
  • Survey
  • Thyroid hormone
  • TSH-suppressive therapy

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Thyroid hormones for euthyroid patients with simple goiter growing over time: a survey of European thyroid specialists'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this