Table 2.
Patient characteristics and hypothyroidism treatment for treated patients—by TSH treatment categories
| Variable | Undertreated (N = 558) | Appropriately treated (N = 1231) | Overtreated (N = 24) | Not-monitored (N = 527) | P value |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| N (%), mean ± SD or median [IQ range] | N (%), mean ± SD or median [IQ range] | N (%), mean ± SD or median [IQ range] | N (%), Mean ± SD or median [IQ range] | ||
| Patient characteristics | |||||
| Age (mean ± SD) | 32.21 ± 4.94 | 32.71 ± 4.58 | 32.08 ± 4.00 | 32.65 ± 4.98 | 0.3352 |
| Region [n (%)]c,e | < 0.0001 | ||||
| Northeast | 81 (14.52) | 196 (15.92) | 2 (8.33) | 92 (17.46) | |
| Midwest | 74 (13.26) | 199 (16.17) | 3 (12.50) | 145 (27.51) | |
| South | 284 (50.90) | 516 (41.92) | 13 (54.17) | 163 (30.93) | |
| West | 118 (21.15) | 319 (25.91) | 6 (25.00) | 127 (24.10) | |
| Other | 1 (0.18) | 1 (0.08) | 0 (0.00) | 0 (0.00) | |
| Insurance plan type [n (%)] | 0.1677 | ||||
| Exclusive provider organization | 84 (15.05) | 160 (13.00) | 3 (12.50) | 50 (9.49) | |
| Health maintenance organization | 23 (4.12) | 41 (3.33) | 0 (0.00) | 13 (2.47) | |
| Indemnity | 0 (0.00) | 0 (0.00) | 0 (0.00) | 1 (0.19) | |
| Point of service | 442 (79.21) | 1004 (81.56) | 21 (87.50) | 455 (86.34) | |
| Preferred provider organization | 9 (1.61) | 26 (2.11) | 0 (0.00) | 8 (1.52) | |
| Diagnosing physician [n (%)]c,e | < 0.0001 | ||||
| Endocrinologist | 52 (9.32) | 114 (9.26) | 0 (0.00) | 42 (7.97) | |
| Family medicine | 58 (10.39) | 117 (9.50) | 1 (4.17) | 70 (13.28) | |
| Internal medicine | 47 (8.42) | 70 (5.69) | 2 (8.33) | 40 (7.59) | |
| Obstetrics and gynecology | 70 (12.54) | 167 (13.57) | 3 (12.50) | 115 (21.82) | |
| General acute care hospital | 89 (15.95) | 181 (14.70) | 8 (33.33) | 139 (26.38) | |
| Other | 242 (43.37) | 582 (47.28) | 10 (41.67) | 121 (22.96) | |
| Charlson Comorbidity Index (mean ± SD) | 0.17 ± 0.52 | 0.14 ± 0.42 | 0.13 ± 0.34 | 0.20 ± 0.64 | 0.1067 |
| Visit endocrinologist [n (%)] | 100 (12.22) | 216 (12.09) | 5 (13.16) | 103 (12.78) | 0.9652 |
| TSH (median [IQ range]) | 6.22 [3.69–13.20] | 1.56 [1.14–2.08] | 0.09 [0.02–0.21] | N/A | < 0.0001 |
| No. of TSH lab results [n (%)]c,e,f | < 0.0001 | ||||
| Zero | 0 (0.00) | 0 (0.00) | 0 (0.00) | 527 (100.00) | |
| One | 83 (14.87) | 168 (13.65) | 5 (20.83) | 0 (0.00) | |
| Two–four | 220 (39.43) | 517 (42.00) | 9 (37.50) | 0 (0.00) | |
| Five or more | 255 (45.70) | 546 (44.35) | 10 (41.67) | 0 (0.00) | |
Differences in continuous variables were examined using Kruskal-Wallis tests, and differences in categorical variables were examined using chi-square tests. For categorical variables where a statistically significant difference in groups was found (P < 0.05), ex post pairwise chi-square tests were conducted using a Bonferroni corrected P value
SD standard deviation, IQ interquartile, TSH thyroid-stimulating hormone
aStatistically significant difference between undertreated and appropriately treated groups
bStatistically significant difference between undertreated and overtreated groups
cStatistically significant difference between undertreated and not monitored groups
dStatistically significant difference between appropriately treated and overtreated groups
eStatistically significant difference between appropriately treated and not monitored groups
fStatistically significant difference between overtreated and not monitored groups