Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41268166›Full record

ArticleFrontiers in endocrinology2025

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

Tomasz Bednarczuk, Aleksandra Sugier, Roberto Attanasio, Endre V Nagy, Roberto Negro, Enrico Papini, Miloš Žarković, Ersin Akarsu, Maria Alevizaki, Göksun Ayvaz and 51 more

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Article in Frontiers in endocrinology, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

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5 · Who and what money

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61 authors.

Tomasz BednarczukDepartment of Internal Medicine and Endocrinology, Medical University of Warsaw, Warsaw, Poland.
Aleksandra SugierDepartment of Internal Medicine and Endocrinology, Medical University of Warsaw, Warsaw, Poland.
Roberto AttanasioScientific Committee Associazione Medici Endocrinologi, Udine, Italy.
Endre V NagyDivision of Endocrinology, Department of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Debrecen, Debrecen, Hungary.
Roberto NegroDepartment of Experimental Medicine, University of Salento and Division of Endocrinology V. Fazzi Hospital, Lecce, Italy.
Enrico PapiniDepartment of Endocrinology and Metabolism, Regina Apostolorum Hospital, Lifenet Health Group, Albano Laziale, Rome, Italy.
Miloš ŽarkovićFaculty of Medicine, University of Belgrade, Belgrade, Serbia.
Ersin AkarsuDepartment of Internal Medicine, Division of Endocrinology, Faculty of Medicine, Gaziantep University, Gaziantep, Türkiye.
Maria AlevizakiEndocrine Unit and Diabetes Centre, Department of Clinical Therapeutics, Alexandra Hospital, School of Medicine, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Athens, Greece.
Göksun AyvazDepartment of Endocrinology and Metabolism, Koru Ankara Hospital, Ankara, Türkiye.
Biljana Nedeljković BeleslinFaculty of Medicine, University of Belgrade, Belgrade, Serbia.
Eszter BertaDivision of Endocrinology, Department of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Debrecen, Debrecen, Hungary.
Miklos BodorDivision of Endocrinology, Department of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Debrecen, Debrecen, Hungary.
Anna M BorissovaClinic of Endocrinology and Metabolism, University Hospital "Sofiamed", Medical Faculty, Sofia University "Saint Kliment Ohridski", Sofia, Bulgaria.
Mihail BoyanovClinic of Endocrinology and Metabolism, University Hospital "Alexandrovska", Sofia, Bulgaria.
Camille BuffetSorbonne Universitè, GRC n 16, GRC Thyroid Tumors, Thyroid Diseases and Endocrine Tumor Department, AP-HP, Hôpital Pitié-Salpêtriére, Paris, France.
Maria-Cristina BurlacuDepartment of Endocrinology and Nutrition, Cliniques Universitaires St-Luc, Université Catholique de Louvain, Brussels, Belgium.
Chagit A CohenRabin Medical Center, Tel-Aviv University, Tel-Aviv, Israel.
Jasmina ĆirićFaculty of Medicine, University of Belgrade, Belgrade, Serbia.
Juan J DíezDepartment of Endocrinology, Hospital Universitario Puerta de Hierro Majadahonda, Madrid, Spain.
Harald DobnigThyroid Practice and Specialty Practice for Thyroid Radiofrequency Ablation, Kumberg, Austria.
Valentin FadeyevDepartment of Endocrinology No. 1, N.V. Sklifosovsky Institute of Clinical Medicine, I.M. Sechenov First Moscow State Medical University, Moscow, Russia.
Benjamin C T FieldSection of Clinical Medicine, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Surrey, Guildford, United Kingdom.
Eric FliersDepartment of Endocrinology and Metabolism, Amsterdam UMC, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, Netherlands.
Dagmar Führer-SakelDepartment of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism, University Hospital Essen, University of Amsterdam, Essen, Germany.
Jacob S FrølichDepartment of Endocrinology, Odense University Hospital, Odense, Denmark.
Juan C GalofréDepartment of Endocrinology, Clínica Universidad de Navarra, Pamplona, Spain.
Tommi HakalaDepartment of Surgery, Tampere University Hospital, Tampere, Finland.
Jan Jiskra3rd Department of Medicine, 1st Faculty of Medicine, Charles University, General University Hospital, Prague, Czechia.
Peter A KoppDivision of Endocrinology, Diabetology and Metabolism, University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland.
Michael KrebsInternal Medicine III, Division of Endocrinology, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria.
Michal Kršek3rd Department of Medicine, 1st Faculty of Medicine, Charles University, General University Hospital, Prague, Czechia.
Martin Kužma5th Department of Internal Medicine, Medical Faculty of Comenius University and University Hospital, Bratislava, Slovakia.
Ivica LazúrováP. J. Šafárik University Košice, 1st Department of Internal Medicine of the Medical Faculty, Košice, Slovakia.
Laurence LeenhardtSorbonne Universitè, GRC n 16, GRC Thyroid Tumors, Thyroid Diseases and Endocrine Tumor Department, AP-HP, Hôpital Pitié-Salpêtriére, Paris, France.
Stephen LudgateThe School of Medicine, Trinity College Dublin, The University of Dublin, Dublin, Ireland.
Vitaliy LuchytskiyDepartment of Reproductive Endocrinology, Institute of Endocrinology and Metabolism named after V.P. Komissarenko, National Academy of Medical Science of Ukraine, Kyiv, Ukraine.
Anne McGowanThe School of Medicine, Trinity College Dublin, The University of Dublin, Dublin, Ireland.
Miguel MeloDepartment of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism Coimbra Local Health Unit, Medical Faculty, University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal.
Saara MetsoDepartment of Surgery, Tampere University Hospital, Tampere, Finland.
Carla MoranDiabetes and Endocrinology Section, Beacon Hospital, Dublin, Ireland.
Tatyana MorgunovaDepartment of Endocrinology No. 1, N.V. Sklifosovsky Institute of Clinical Medicine, I.M. Sechenov First Moscow State Medical University, Moscow, Russia.
Dan A NiculescuDepartment of Endocrinology, Carol Davila University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Bucharest, Romania.
Božidar PerićDepartment of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolic Diseases "Mladen Sekso", University Hospital Center "Sisters of Mercy", Zagreb, Croatia.
Tereza PlanckDepartment of Endocrinology, Skåne University Hospital, Malmö, Sweden.
Catalina PoianaDepartment of Endocrinology, Carol Davila University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Bucharest, Romania.
Francisca M PugaServiço de Endocrinologia, Diabetes e Metabolismo, ULS São João, Porto, Portugal.
Eyal RobenshtokEndocrinology Institute, Rabin Medical Center, Gray Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Tel-Aviv, Israel.
Patrick RosseletCabinet Médical 2, Rue Bellefontaine, Lausanne, Switzerland.
Marek RuchalaDepartment of Endocrinology, Metabolism and Internal Medicine, Poznan University of Medical Sciences, Poznan, Poland.
Kamilla R RiisDepartment of Endocrinology, Odense University Hospital, Odense, Denmark.
Alla ShepelkevichDepartment of Endocrinology, Belarusian State Medical University, Minsk, Belarus.
Mykola D TronkoV. P. Komissarenko Institute of Endocrinology and Metabolism, National Academy of Medical Science of Ukraine, Kyiv, Ukraine.
David UnuaneDepartment of Internal Medicine, Endocrine Unit, UZ Brussel, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Brussels, Belgium.
Irfan VardarliDepartment of Medicine I, Klinikum Vest GmbH Knappschaftskrankenhaus Recklinghausen, Academic Hospital, Ruhr-University Bochum, Recklinghausen, Germany.
W Edward VisserRotterdam Thyroid Center, Department of Internal Medicine, Erasmus MC, Rotterdam, Netherlands.
Andromachi VryonidouDepartment of Endocrinology and Diabetes Centre, Hellenic Red Cross Hospital, Athens, Greece.
Younes Ramazan YounesEast Surrey Hospital, Surrey and Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust, Redhill, United Kingdom.
Elena YurenyaMinsk Endocrinology Medical Center, Minsk, Belarus.
Petros PerrosTranslational and Clinical Research Institute, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, United Kingdom.
Laszlo HegedüsDepartment of Endocrinology, Odense University Hospital, Odense, Denmark.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

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 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.

Indexed as

FatigueHypothyroidismPractice Patterns, Physicians'Thyroid HormonesAdultEndocrinologistsEndocrinologyEuropeFemaleHumansMaleMiddle AgedSocieties, MedicalSurveys and QuestionnairesThyroid Hormoneseuthyroidismfatiguelevothyroxinesurveythyroid hormone

Identifiers

PMID41268166
PMCPMC12626830

What Socratic holds

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.