Prevalence of hyperthyroid symptoms and risk factors for subclinical hyperthyroidism
| Symptoms | Euthyroid, % (95% CI)a (n = 2703) | Subclinical hypothyroidism, % (95% CI)a (n = 29) | Unadjusted OR (95% CI) | P-value | Adjusted ORb (95% CI) | P-value |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Six symptoms typically associated with hyperthyroidism | ||||||
| Excessive perspiration | 3.1 (2.5 to 3.8) | 3.4 (0.6 to 17.2) | 1.1 (0.2 to 8.3) | 0.92 | 1.4 (0.2 to 10.9) | 0.73 |
| Tremor | 4.3 (3.6 to 5.1) | 3.4 (0.6 to 17.2) | 0.8 (0.1 to 6.0) | 0.83 | 0.6 (0.8 to 5.0) | 0.66 |
| Frequent palpitation | 6.0 (5.2 to 7.0) | 6.9 (1.9 to 22.0) | 1.2 (0.3 to 4.9) | 0.85 | 1.3 (0.3 to 5.9) | 0.72 |
| Sensitivity to heat | 10.7 (9.6 to 11.9) | 13.8 (5.5 to 30.4) | 1.3 (0.5 to 3.9) | 0.59 | 1.6 (0.5 to 4.7) | 0.42 |
| Fast thinking | 22.7 (21.1 to 24.3) | 31.0 (17.3 to 49.2) | 1.5 (0.7 to 3.4) | 0.29 | 1.4 (0.6 to 3.2) | 0.42 |
| Weight loss | 7.4 (7.0 to 9.1) | 3.4 (0.6 to 17.2) | 0.4 (0.1 to 3.3) | 0.43 | 0.4 (0.05 to 2.8) | 0.33 |
| Three symptoms that can be associated with overt hyper- or hypothyroidism | ||||||
| Poor memory | 9.7 (8.6 to 10.9) | 0 | 0 | 1.0 | 0 | 0.99 |
| Weak muscles | 14.3 (13.0 to 15.7) | 6.9 (1.9 to 22.0) | 0.4 (0.1 to 1.9) | 0.27 | 0.4 (0.1 to 1.9) | 0.27 |
| Lethargy | 16.4 (15.0 to 17.8) | 10.3 (3.6 to 26.4) | 0.6 (0.2 to 2.0) | 0.39 | 0.6 (0.2 to 2.0) | 0.41 |
| Multiple symptoms | ||||||
| Total number of symptoms reported | Median (IQR) 1.0 (1.0) | Median (IQR) 1.0 (1.0) | 0.9 (0.6 to 1.3) | 0.44 | 0.8 (0.6 to 1.3) | 0.41 |
↵a Unless otherwise stated.
↵b Adjusted odds of subclinical hyperthyroidism after controlling for sociodemographic factors (age, sex, deprivation score, smoking status), concomitant disease, and prescription medication. Bonferroni adjusted α value to control for type 1 error resulting from multiple comparisons = 0.005. IQR = interquartile range. OR = odds ratio.