Erschienen:
Public Library of Science (PLoS), 2021
Erschienen in:
PLOS ONE, 16 (2021) 12, Seite e0261160
Sprache:
Englisch
DOI:
10.1371/journal.pone.0261160
ISSN:
1932-6203
Entstehung:
Anmerkungen:
Beschreibung:
<jats:sec id="sec001">
<jats:title>Importance</jats:title>
<jats:p>Levothyroxine prescriptions are rising worldwide. However, there are few data on factors associated with chronic use.</jats:p>
</jats:sec>
<jats:sec id="sec002">
<jats:title>Objective</jats:title>
<jats:p>To assess the prevalence of chronic levothyroxine use, its rank among other chronic drugs and factors associated with chronic use. To assess the proportion of users outside the therapeutic range of thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH).</jats:p>
</jats:sec>
<jats:sec id="sec003">
<jats:title>Design</jats:title>
<jats:p>Cohort study (CoLaus|PsyCoLaus) with recruitment from 2003 to 2006. Follow-ups occurred 5 and 10 years after baseline.</jats:p>
</jats:sec>
<jats:sec id="sec004">
<jats:title>Participants</jats:title>
<jats:p>A random sample of Lausanne (Switzerland) inhabitants aged 35–75 years.</jats:p>
</jats:sec>
<jats:sec id="sec005">
<jats:title>Main outcomes</jats:title>
<jats:p>We evaluated the prevalence of chronic levothyroxine use and we then ranked it among the other most used chronic drugs. The ranking was compared to data from health insurance across the country. We assessed the association between each factor and chronic levothyroxine use in multivariable logistic regression models. The proportion of chronic levothyroxine users outside the usual TSH therapeutic range was assessed.</jats:p>
</jats:sec>
<jats:sec id="sec006">
<jats:title>Results</jats:title>
<jats:p>4,334 participants were included in the analysis (mean±SD age 62.8±10.4 years, 54.9% women). 166 (3.8%) participants were chronic levothyroxine users. Levothyroxine was the second most prescribed chronic drug after aspirin in the cohort (8.2%) and the third most prescribed when using Swiss-wide insurance data. In multivariable analysis, chronic levothyroxine use was associated with increasing age [odds ratio 1.03, 95% confidence interval 1.01–1.05 per 1-year increase]; female sex [11.87 (5.24–26.89)]; BMI [1.06 (1.02–1.09) per 1-kg/m2 increase]; number of concomitant drugs [1.22 (1.16–1.29) per 1-drug increase]; and family history of thyroid pathologies [2.18 (1.37–3.48)]. Among chronic levothyroxine users with thyroid hormones assessment (n = 157), 42 (27%) were outside the TSH therapeutic range (17% overtreated and 10% undertreated).</jats:p>
</jats:sec>
<jats:sec id="sec007">
<jats:title>Conclusions</jats:title>
<jats:p>In this population-based study, levothyroxine ranked second among chronic drugs. Age, female sex, BMI, number of drugs and family history of thyroid pathologies were associated with chronic levothyroxine use. More than one in four chronic users were over- or undertreated.</jats:p>
</jats:sec>