Global prevalence and epidemiological trends of Hashimoto's thyroiditis in adults: A systematic review and meta-analysis.
Level 1 - systematic review of randomized trials
Systematic review and meta-analysis of cross-sectional/prevalence studies (Level 1 by design analogy)
PubMed 36311599 · doi:10.3389/fpubh.2022.1020709
What was done
Authors conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis across PubMed, Embase, MEDLINE, Scopus, and Web of Science up to June 2022 without language restrictions. They synthesized 48 representative studies using random-effects models, encompassing 19 countries and 22,680,155 adult participants, to evaluate the global prevalence and demographic trends of Hashimoto's thyroiditis stratified by geographic region, economic income level, gender, and diagnostic method.
What was found
The pooled global prevalence of Hashimoto's thyroiditis in adults was 7.5% (95% CI: 5.7–9.6%). Stratified by economic status, prevalence was 11.4% (95% CI: 2.5–25.2%) in lower-middle-income, 5.6% (95% CI: 3.9–7.4%) in upper-middle-income, and 8.4% (95% CI: 5.6–11.8%) in high-income regions. By region, prevalence was 14.2% (95% CI: 2.5–32.9%) in Africa, 11.0% (95% CI: 7.8–14.7%) in Oceania, 8.0% in South America, 7.8% in Europe, 0.0–29.5% (95% CI) in North America, and 5.8% (95% CI: 2.8–9.9%) in Asia. Risk in women was approximately four times higher than in men.
Why it matters
It provides comprehensive global baseline estimates of Hashimoto's thyroiditis across diverse income levels, highlighting a disproportionate disease burden in women and in lower-middle-income regions.
Limits
Investigator heterogeneity among included studies was high (high I²). Several regional estimates had very wide confidence intervals, and variations in diagnostic criteria across primary studies may introduce outcome misclassification.
Cited by
- contradicts Eighty to ninety percent of the population has Hashimoto's thyroiditis.