Frontiers in Endocrinology (Nov 2023)

Characteristics of specialists treating hypothyroid patients: the “THESIS” collaborative

  • Miloš Žarković,
  • Miloš Žarković,
  • Roberto Attanasio,
  • Endre V. Nagy,
  • Roberto Negro,
  • Enrico Papini,
  • Petros Perros,
  • Chagit Adler Cohen,
  • Ersin Akarsu,
  • Maria Alevizaki,
  • Göksun Ayvaz,
  • Tomasz Bednarczuk,
  • Eszter Berta,
  • Miklos Bodor,
  • Anna Maria Borissova,
  • Mihail Boyanov,
  • Camille Buffet,
  • Maria-Cristina Burlacu,
  • Jasmina Ćirić,
  • Jasmina Ćirić,
  • Juan J. Díez,
  • Juan J. Díez,
  • Juan J. Díez,
  • Harald Dobnig,
  • Valentin Fadeyev,
  • Benjamin C. T. Field,
  • Eric Fliers,
  • Jacob Stampe Frølich,
  • Dagmar Führer,
  • Juan Carlos Galofré,
  • Tommi Hakala,
  • Jan Jiskra,
  • Peter Kopp,
  • Michael Krebs,
  • Michal Kršek,
  • Martin Kužma,
  • Mikael Lantz,
  • Ivica Lazúrová,
  • Laurence Leenhardt,
  • Vitaliy Luchytskiy,
  • Anne McGowan,
  • Miguel Melo,
  • Saara Metso,
  • Carla Moran,
  • Carla Moran,
  • Tatyana Morgunova,
  • Tronko Mykola,
  • Biljana Nedeljković Beleslin,
  • Biljana Nedeljković Beleslin,
  • Dan Alexandru Niculescu,
  • Božidar Perić,
  • Tereza Planck,
  • Catalina Poiana,
  • Francisca Marques Puga,
  • Eyal Robenshtok,
  • Patrick Rosselet,
  • Marek Ruchala,
  • Kamilla Ryom Riis,
  • Alla Shepelkevich,
  • David Unuane,
  • Irfan Vardarli,
  • Irfan Vardarli,
  • W. Edward Visser,
  • Andromachi Vrionidou,
  • Younes R. Younes,
  • Elena Yurenya,
  • Laszlo Hegedüs

DOI
https://doi.org/10.3389/fendo.2023.1225202
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 14

Abstract

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IntroductionThyroid specialists influence how hypothyroid patients are treated, including patients managed in primary care. Given that physician characteristics influence patient care, this study aimed to explore thyroid specialist profiles and associations with geo-economic factors.MethodsThyroid specialists from 28 countries were invited to respond to a questionnaire, Treatment of Hypothyroidism in Europe by Specialists: an International Survey (THESIS). Geographic regions were defined according to the United Nations Statistics Division. The national economic status was estimated using World Bank data on the gross national income per capita (GNI per capita).Results5,695 valid responses were received (response rate 33·0%). The mean age was 49 years, and 65·0% were female. The proportion of female respondents was lowest in Northern (45·6%) and highest in Eastern Europe (77·2%) (p <0·001). Respondent work volume, university affiliation and private practice differed significantly between countries (p<0·001). Age and GNI per capita were correlated inversely with the proportion of female respondents (p<0·01). GNI per capita was inversely related to the proportion of respondents working exclusively in private practice (p<0·011) and the proportion of respondents who treated >100 patients annually (p<0·01).DiscussionTHESIS has demonstrated differences in characteristics of thyroid specialists at national and regional levels, strongly associated with GNI per capita. Hypothyroid patients in middle-income countries are more likely to encounter female thyroid specialists working in private practice, with a high workload, compared to high-income countries. Whether these differences influence the quality of care and patient satisfaction is unknown, but merits further study.

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