Knowledge, Attitudes, and Practices Regarding Autoimmune Thyroiditis Among Patients in Jilin: A Cross-Sectional...

To investigate the knowledge, attitudes, and practices (KAP) related to the diagnosis and treatment of autoimmune thyroiditis (AITD) among patients with AITD in an endocrinology department.

This cross-sectional study was conducted from November 2024 to September 2025 in the Department of Endocrinology of the authors' hospital. A total of 474 patients with autoimmune thyroiditis were enrolled by convenience sampling. Data were collected using a self-designed, expert-validated structured KAP questionnaire, administered either on site in paper form or online via the Wenjuanxing platform. The questionnaire assessed knowledge, attitudes, and practices regarding AITD, and scores of at least 70% of the maximum possible score were defined as indicating sufficient knowledge, positive attitudes, or adequate practices, respectively.

Among 474 participants, mean knowledge, attitude, and practice scores were 5.79±4.19, 36.15±4.08, and 45.38±10.67, respectively. Higher income, longer disease duration, female gender, urban residence, and marital status correlated with better knowledge and attitudes; smoking, drinking, uncertain family history, and self-employment correlated with lower scores. Knowledge and attitude were independently associated with practice. Structural equation modeling showed that knowledge was significantly and positively associated with both attitude (β=0.451) and practice (β=0.238); attitude was positively associated with practice (β=0.411) and partially mediated the association between knowledge and practice (indirect effect β=0.185; all P<0.001).

Patients with AITD followed at the author's Hospital had insufficient knowledge but generally positive attitudes and moderate practice behaviors. Future studies should design and test interventions to improve AITD-related KAP. Interventions that strengthen disease-specific knowledge and address psychological concerns may further reinforce positive attitudes and promote more comprehensive and consistent self-management, thereby potentially improving clinical outcomes.