Thyroid eye disease shows unimodal age distribution, peaking at younger ages in certain races

A detailed overview of thyroid eye disease (TED), including new insights like a single-peak age distribution and variations in prevalence among different races, was discussed in a cross-sectional analysis of IRIS® Registry patients. The findings confirm that being female, smoking, and having Type 1 diabetes are consistent risk factors for TED, aligning with previous studies.

The prevalence of TED was estimated to be 0.09% among the registry patients. The condition showed a unimodal age distribution, with the highest prevalence observed in individuals aged 50 to 59 years (0.12%). In addition, TED was found to be more prevalent in females compared to males (0.12% vs 0.04%) and in non-Hispanic individuals compared to Hispanics (0.10% vs 0.05%).

Race was also identified as a factor influencing TED prevalence, ranging from 0.08% in Asians to 0.12% in Black/African-Americans. Furthermore, each racial group exhibited varying ages of peak prevalence.

The study’s multivariate analysis identified several factors associated with TED. This included age, with higher odds ratios observed in older age groups compared to individuals aged 18 to 29 years. Female sex was associated with a 3.5 times higher risk of TED compared to males. Race also played a role, with Black individuals having a slightly higher risk compared to White individuals, while Asians had a slightly lower risk. Smoking status was found to be a significant factor, with both former and current smokers having an increased risk compared to never smokers.

In addition, individuals with Type 1 diabetes were nearly twice as likely to develop TED compared to those without diabetes.

Reference
Ramesh S, Zhang QE, Sharpe J, et al. Thyroid Eye Disease (TED) and its Vision Threatening Manifestations in the Academy IRIS® Registry: 2014-2018. Am J Ophthalmol. 2023;S0002-9394(23)00185-X. doi: 10.1016/j.ajo.2023.04.013. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 37201696.