ArticleBMC health services research2020
Frequency of thyroid function tests and examinations in participants of a population-based study.
Article in BMC health services research, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 18 papers.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
18 citing papers in PubMed, 24 citations in OpenAlex.
- Thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH): does it live up to its promises in the andrology laboratory?Basic and clinical andrology · 2026Article
- Thyroid hormone therapy in a population cohort over two decades indicates persistent overtreatment.European thyroid journal · 2026Article
- Structural MRI Biomarkers of Intracranial Pressure in IIH: Linking Optic Nerve Sheath, Pituitary Morphology, and Hormonal Changes.Clinical neuroradiology · 2026Article
- Reference Intervals and Cut-Off Values for Thyroid Tests in the Croatian Adult Population on the Snibe MAGLUMI X6 Immunoassay Analyzer.Diagnostics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- A Scoping Review on the Prevalence of Hashimoto's Thyroiditis and the Possible Associated Factors.Medical sciences (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- Trends in the use of thyroid diagnostics and treatments between 2008 and 2019 in Germany.Scientific reports · 2024Article
- Article
- Trends and Components of Thyroid Status Evaluation in Commercially Insured Adults in the United States, 2006-2020.The Journal of clinical endocrinology and metabolism · 2024Article
- Over- and Undertreatment With Levothyroxine.Deutsches Arzteblatt international · 2023Observational
- Observational study of diagnosis and management in adult primary hypothyroidism in southwest of Sweden.Scandinavian journal of primary health care · 2023Observational
- Article
- Thyroid antibodies and levothyroxine effects in subclinical hypothyroidism: A pooled analysis of two randomized controlled trials.Journal of internal medicine · 2022Article
- Towards De-Implementation of low-value thyroid care in older adults.Current opinion in endocrinology, diabetes, and obesity · 2022Review
- Anti-thyroid antibodies in the relation to TSH levels and family history of thyroid diseases in young Caucasian women.Frontiers in endocrinology · 2022Article
- Evaluating health outcomes in the treatment of hypothyroidism.Frontiers in endocrinology · 2022Review
- Trends in thyroid function testing, neck ultrasound, thyroid fine needle aspiration, and thyroidectomies in North-eastern Italy.Journal of endocrinological investigation · 2021Article
- Article
- The future of diagnosis in general practice.The British journal of general practice : the journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners · 2020Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundThyroid disorders are common in the adult German population. Little is known about guideline implementation in clinical practice and the prevalence of diagnostic procedures in ambulatory care. The study aims to investigate the use of thyroid hormone measurements, thyroid ultrasound, thyroid scintiscan and associated costs in ambulatory care at population level.
methodsData were derived from two independent population-based cohorts of the Study of Health In Pomerania (SHIP). Ambulatory billing data from the Association of Statutory Health Insurance Physicians Mecklenburg-Vorpommern were individually linked for the period 2002-2016 with SHIP data. The main outcomes were the frequency of outpatient ultrasound, scintiscan, serum TSH level measurement, free triiodothyronine (fT3) and free thyroxine (fT4) measurement, TSH-receptor-antibodies and microsomal antibodies measurement within 1 year and 3 years prior to the study entrance of the participants. Multinomial logistic regression models were used to assess the association of age, sex, thyroid medication intake and Charlson-Comorbidity-Index with frequency of TSH measurements and ultrasound examinations.
resultsA total of 5552 participants (47% male, median age 55) were included in the analysis. 25% (1409/5552) had a diagnosed thyroid disorder or treatment, 40% (2191/5552) had clinical findings based on ultrasound or laboratory testing in SHIP only and 35% (1952/5552) neither a coded thyroid disorder or clinical finding nor thyroid medication. In the total study population 30% (1626/5552) received at least one TSH measurement, 6.8% (378/5552) at least one thyroid ultrasound and 2.6% (146/5552) at least one scintiscan within the past year before the study examination. Tests were performed more frequently in patients with thyroid medication and coded thyroid disorders. Hence, this group caused the highest expenditures.
conclusionsGiven the high prevalence of thyroid disorders, diagnostic and monitoring tests should be used rationally with regard to costs. TSH levels should be monitored regularly in patients on thyroid medication. A consensus on monitoring frequency and iteration of monitoring of morphological thyroid disorders with TSH and ultrasound and specific guideline recommendations are needed.
trial registrationVersorgungsforschung Deutschland (VfD_17_003880).
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.