Use of thyroid hormones in euthyroid patients with unexplained fatigue: analyses of aggregate data from European national surveys of professional endocrine society members

Result code in IS VaVaI

<a href="https://www.isvavai.cz/riv?ss=detail&h=RIV%2F00064165%3A_____%2F25%3A10505889" target="_blank" >RIV/00064165:_____/25:10505889 - isvavai.cz</a>

Alternative codes found

RIV/00216208:11110/25:10505889

Result on the web

<a href="https://verso.is.cuni.cz/pub/verso.fpl?fname=obd_publikace_handle&handle=z~sfx_Jnc_" target="_blank" >https://verso.is.cuni.cz/pub/verso.fpl?fname=obd_publikace_handle&handle=z~sfx_Jnc_</a>

DOI - Digital Object Identifier

<a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fendo.2025.1713814" target="_blank" >10.3389/fendo.2025.1713814</a>

Result language

angličtina

Original language name

Use of thyroid hormones in euthyroid patients with unexplained fatigue: analyses of aggregate data from European national surveys of professional endocrine society members

Original language description

Background: Managing patients with fatigue is a clinical challenge. Because fatigue is often reported in hypothyroidism, thyroid hormone (TH) therapy may sometimes be incorrectly considered for biochemically euthyroid individuals. This study aimed to evaluate the prevalence and determinants of this practice in different European countries. Methods: We analyzed aggregate data from the THESIS (Treatment of Hypothyroidism in Europe by Specialists: an International Survey) online survey. We analyzed responses from 5,695 members of 28 national endocrine/thyroid societies’ specialists to the statement: “Thyroid hormones may be indicated in biochemically euthyroid patients with unexplained fatigue”. Results: Overall, 7.5% (426/5695) of respondents indicated that TH therapy might be considered for euthyroid patients with unexplained fatigue. The proportion of positive responses varied widely across different countries (between 1.1% in Switzerland and 29.3% in Serbia; p=2 ×10-16) and regions (between 4.7% in Western Europe and 8.7% in Western Asia or 8.8% in Eastern Europe; p=0.004). TH were more frequently prescribed for unexplained fatigue by male respondents (Odds Ratio, OR 1.45, 95% CI 1.18-1.78) and physicians practicing in private practice (OR 1.27, 95% CI 1.02-1.58), and less frequently by endocrinologists (OR 0.62, 95% CI 0.46-0.83). Conclusion: A small, yet not negligible percentage of European thyroid-focused physicians consider using TH for euthyroid patients with unexplained fatigue, with significant variations based on geographic, demographic, and practice-related factors. Using levothyroxine and/or liothyronine in such cases lacks evidence and may partially contribute to the concerning overuse of TH therapy.

Czech name

—

Czech description

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Type

J_imp - Article in a specialist periodical, which is included in the Web of Science database

CEP classification

—

OECD FORD branch

30202 - Endocrinology and metabolism (including diabetes, hormones)

Project

—

Continuities

V - Vyzkumna aktivita podporovana z jinych verejnych zdroju

Publication year

2025

Confidentiality

S - Úplné a pravdivé údaje o projektu nepodléhají ochraně podle zvláštních právních předpisů

Name of the periodical

Frontiers in Endocrinology

ISSN

1664-2392

e-ISSN

1664-2392

Volume of the periodical

16

Issue of the periodical within the volume

November

Country of publishing house

CH - SWITZERLAND

Number of pages

11

Pages from-to

1713814

UT code for WoS article

001616741500001

EID of the result in the Scopus database

2-s2.0-105022628672