Thyroid Function Test

Thyroid-stimulating hormone testing rates remained stable in the U.S. from 2006 to 2020, with about 10% of adults without thyroid disease receiving a test annually, according to study data.

Nearly one-third of older adults on thyroid hormone also take another medication that can interfere with thyroid function tests, particularly adults with multiple comorbidities, according to data presented at the ENDO annual meeting.

Endocrine Today has compiled a list of the top five news reports posted from the American Thyroid Association Annual Meeting, held from Oct. 30 to Nov. 3 in Chicago.

CHICAGO — In a cohort of adults who received a thyroid function test during hospitalization, most did not have a thyroid disease and those who did generally had mild conditions, according to findings presented at the annual meeting of the American Thyroid Association.

CHICAGO — Levothyroxine is prescribed to more than 80% of patients despite a lack of supporting evidence from thyroid function laboratory assessments, according to findings presented at the annual meeting of the American Thyroid Association.

Subclinical hypothyroidism is a common diagnosis, present in approximately 3% to 4% of reproductive-age women. Although a mild form of hypothyroidism — defined as elevated thyroid-stimulating hormone with normal free thyroxine levels — the condition has been associated with infertility, increased risk for adverse pregnancy and neonatal outcomes, and possibly with increased risk for neurocognitive deficits in offspring.

Among women positive for thyroid peroxidase antibodies, subclinical hypothyroidism and hypothyroxinemia diagnosed in the first trimester are likely to resolve later in pregnancy; however, subclinical hyperthyroidism is likely to persist, according to findings published in Thyroid.