National trends in thyroid disease and COVID-19 pandemic-related factors, 1998–2021: A nationwide representative study in South Korea
Kyeongmin Lee,
Jaeyu Park,
Myeongcheol Lee,
Hojae Lee,
Yejun Son,
Hyejun Kim,
Jiseung Kang,
Yujin Choi,
Sang Youl Rhee,
Masoud Rahmati,
Ai Koyanagi,
Lee Smith,
Guillermo F. López Sánchez,
Elena Dragioti,
Selin Woo,
Dong Keon Yon
Affiliations
Kyeongmin Lee
Center for Digital Health, Medical Science Research Institute, Kyung Hee University College of Medicine, Seoul, South Korea; Department of Regulatory Science, Kyung Hee University, Seoul, South Korea
Jaeyu Park
Center for Digital Health, Medical Science Research Institute, Kyung Hee University College of Medicine, Seoul, South Korea; Department of Regulatory Science, Kyung Hee University, Seoul, South Korea
Myeongcheol Lee
Center for Digital Health, Medical Science Research Institute, Kyung Hee University College of Medicine, Seoul, South Korea; Department of Regulatory Science, Kyung Hee University, Seoul, South Korea
Hojae Lee
Center for Digital Health, Medical Science Research Institute, Kyung Hee University College of Medicine, Seoul, South Korea; Department of Regulatory Science, Kyung Hee University, Seoul, South Korea
Yejun Son
Center for Digital Health, Medical Science Research Institute, Kyung Hee University College of Medicine, Seoul, South Korea
Hyejun Kim
Center for Digital Health, Medical Science Research Institute, Kyung Hee University College of Medicine, Seoul, South Korea; Department of Applied Information Engineering, Yonsei University, Seoul, South Korea
Jiseung Kang
Division of Sleep Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA; Department of Anesthesia, Critical Care and Pain Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA
Yujin Choi
Center for Digital Health, Medical Science Research Institute, Kyung Hee University College of Medicine, Seoul, South Korea; Department of Korean Medicine, Kyung Hee University College of Korean Medicine, Seoul, South Korea
Sang Youl Rhee
Center for Digital Health, Medical Science Research Institute, Kyung Hee University College of Medicine, Seoul, South Korea; Department of Regulatory Science, Kyung Hee University, Seoul, South Korea; Department of Endocrinology and Metabolism, Kyung Hee University School of Medicine, Seoul, South Korea
Masoud Rahmati
CEReSS-Health Service Research and Quality of Life Center, Assistance Publique-Hôpitaux de Marseille, Aix-Marseille University, Marseille, France; Department of Physical Education and Sport Sciences, Faculty of Literature and Human Sciences, Lorestan University, Khoramabad, Iran; Department of Physical Education and Sport Sciences, Faculty of Literature and Humanities, Vali-E-Asr University of Rafsanjan, Rafsanjan, Iran
Ai Koyanagi
Research and Development Unit, Parc Sanitari Sant Joan de Déu, Barcelona, Spain
Lee Smith
Centre for Health, Performance, and Wellbeing, Anglia Ruskin University, Cambridge, UK; Corresponding author. Centre for Health, Performance and Wellbeing, Anglia Ruskin University, East Rd, Cambridge, CB1 1PT, UK.
Guillermo F. López Sánchez
Division of Preventive Medicine and Public Health, Department of Public Health Sciences, School of Medicine, University of Murcia, Murcia, Spain
Elena Dragioti
Research Laboratory Psychology of Patients, Families, and Health Professionals, Department of Nursing, School of Health Sciences, University of Ioannina, Ioannina, Greece
Selin Woo
Center for Digital Health, Medical Science Research Institute, Kyung Hee University College of Medicine, Seoul, South Korea; Corresponding author. Center for Digital Health, Medical Science Research Institute, Kyung Hee University College of Medicine, 23 Kyungheedae–ro, Dongdaemun–gu, Seoul, 02447, South Korea.
Dong Keon Yon
Center for Digital Health, Medical Science Research Institute, Kyung Hee University College of Medicine, Seoul, South Korea; Department of Regulatory Science, Kyung Hee University, Seoul, South Korea; Department of Pediatrics, Kyung Hee University Medical Center, Kyung Hee University College of Medicine, Seoul, South Korea; Corresponding author. Department of Pediatrics, Kyung Hee University College of Medicine, 23 Kyungheedae–ro, Dongdaemun–gu, Seoul, 02447, South Korea.
Objective: Although thyroid disease is a common condition, there is limited research examining the prevalence of thyroid disease over a long period of time, including both before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. Therefore, we aimed to investigate sociodemographic aspects that might be associated with thyroid disease and how its prevalence has varied during the pandemic. Methods: We assessed the prevalence of thyroid disease among Korean adults by using data from the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey from 1998 to 2021. We evaluated weighted prevalence and β-coefficients with 95 % CI for factors such as age, sex, residential area, education level, household income, perceived stress level, weight change, occupation category, and body mass index groups. Results: From 1998 to 2021, the prevalence of thyroid disease among 159,896 Korean adults (88,120 females [55.1 %]) aged 20 years and older exhibited an overall increasing trend. The weighted prevalence in the general population rose from 1.52 % (95 % CI, 1.41–1.64) in 1998–2005 to 3.84 % (3.30–4.39) in 2021, with a higher likelihood of thyroid disease exposure as age increased. In addition, females, individuals with lower education levels, those with high levels of perceived stress, those who gained weight, and those classified as overweight or obese emerged as vulnerable groups for thyroid disease. For the majority of subgroups, the change amid the effect of the pandemic on prevalence was minimal. However, the aged ≥60 years group showed a greater increase in prevalence during the pandemic than before the pandemic (βdiff: 0.52 [95 % CI, 0.37–0.68]). Conclusions: A nationwide representative study in South Korea revealed an increasing trend in the prevalence of thyroid disease over 24 years, particularly among the older population. Despite the minimal variation during the pandemic, our findings emphasize the need for targeted thyroid disease policies and further research, especially for specific subgroups such as the older population.
