C. Fardella et al., High prevalence of subclinical thyroidal disease among individuals attended in occupational health examinations, REV MED CHI, 129(2), 2001, pp. 155-160
Background: There is no information about the prevalence of thyroidal disea
ses in the general Chilean population. Aim: To assess the prevalence of thy
roidal diseases in individuals attended in occupational health examinations
. Subjects and methods: Four hundred seventy two individuals were examined
between 1998 and 1999. In all, serum levels of thyroid hormones, TSH and an
ti thyroidal antibodies (anti microsomal, anti thyroid peroxidase and anti
thyroglobulin) were measured. Results: Forty four subjects were excluded fr
om the study due to an incomplete medical record and 18 due to a personal h
istory of thyroidal disease. Abnormal serum levels of thyroid hormones or T
SH were detected in 28 subjects (6.8%). Four (1%) had hypothyroidism, 23 a
subclinical hypothyroidism (5.6%) and one (0.2%) had hyperthyroidism. In 87
subjects (21.2%) at least one of the antibodies was positive. Positive ant
i thyroid antibodies were found in 14 of 28 subjects (50%) with abnormal th
yroid hormone levels, compared with 73 of 382 subjects (19.1%) with normal
thyroid hormone levels. Thyroid dysfunction was twice as frequent in women
than in men. Conclusions: In this sample, a 6.8% prevalence of abnormal thy
roid function tests was detected.