Thyroid Dysfunction on the Rise: Desiccated Extract and Dioxin Exposure to Blame
Prescriptions for desiccated thyroid extract (DTE) to treat newly diagnosed hypothyroidism nearly doubled between 2010 and 2020 in the United States, while prescribing of first-line levothyroxine monotherapy dropped, new research has found. The nonlevothyroxine therapies were more commonly prescribed in the west and southwestern United States, while levothyroxine monotherapy was more frequent in the northwest and upper midwest, and also in states with higher densities of primary care physicians and endocrinologists. The shift in first-line treatment was unexpected, and the reasons for the increase in DTE use are unclear.