Screening of an elderly female population for hypo- and hyperthyroidism by use of a thyroid hormone panel

The elderly female population living in a rural primary health care district in the south of Sweden was screened for hypo- and hyperthyroidism. A total of 1 442 (97.3%) of the 1 482 women 60 years of age or older attended the study. By use of a computer-evaluated thyroid hormone panel, 178 women (12.3%) were identified as probably abnormal. Among them, 8 women (0.55% of total) with previously unknown thyroid disease were detected as overtly hypothyroid. If also 13 women with spontaneous subclinical hypothyroidism were included, the prevalence of earlier unknown hypothyroidism was 21/1 442 (1.5%). The number of subjects with hyperthyroidism discovered by screening was 28/1 442 (1.9%). Although much remains to be elucidated regarding medical, social and economic factors, the high figures obtained for newly discovered abnormal thyroid function suggest that screening for hyper- and hypothyroidism may be worthwhile in such an elderly female population.