Thyroid volume—new reference values for defining thyroid enlargement
Authors' conclusion
Upper reference values for thyroid volume are too low for an adult, previously iodine-deficient population and do not consider age, body weight, and height. Using individualised equations reduces the prevalence of thyroid enlargement substantially and can lead to a decrease in overdiagnoses and the use of medical resources.
Study context
- Population
- Adults from SHIP-START, SHIP-TREND and KORA-F4 cohorts in Northern and Southern Germany; previously iodine-deficient population8,606 thyroid-healthy reference
- Participants
- 11,549 adults
- Exposure
- Individualised reference equations vs established cut-offs
- Outcome
- Upper reference value (95th percentile) for thyroid volume
Methodological details3 independent population-based cohorts, sex-stratified quantile regression (95th percentile), SHIP-START-0: 1997–2001, Northern Germany; SHIP-TREND-0: 2008–2012, same region; KORA-F4: 2006–2008, Southern Germany
- 3 independent population-based cohorts
- Sex-stratified quantile regression (95th percentile)
- SHIP-START-0: 1997–2001, Northern Germany; SHIP-TREND-0: 2008–2012, same region; KORA-F4: 2006–2008, Southern Germany
Main finding
As reported in the abstract
Overall upper reference value for thyroid volume
Observational data: associations, not effects.
Further findings
Prevalence of goitre in the overall population
- Goitre with established cut-offs
- 34%
- Goitre with new equations
- 7%
Original publication
Thyroid volume—new reference values for defining thyroid enlargement. Eur J Endocrinol. Published 27 May 2025. doi:10.
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