Abstract

Introduction: Hypoparathyroidism (HP) is a rare disorder. It is characterized by low serum calcium and inappropriately low parathyroid hormone (PTH) levels. Patients with HP suffer from renal, vascular and neural complications but knowledge about the extent and prevalence of these are sparse. Sweden offers an excellent infrastructure for research in this area through merging data from different high-quality population-based registers. Calcium is always prescribed to HP patients in Sweden making correlations between calcium intake and complications possible. Purpose: The aim of this study was to examine the prevalence of complications in HP adult patients in Sweden in correlation to substitution treatment. Materials and methods: We have conducted a population-based cohort study in patients with HP in Sweden. Through the Swedish National Patient Register (SNPR) and the Swedish Prescribed Drug Register (SPDR), we identified patients with a diagnosis of HP and treatment with either 1) active vitamin D and calcium, 2) active vitamin D, calcium and PTH, 3) calcium and PTH and 4) vitamin D and calcium. For each HP patient ten controls matched by age, sex and county of residence was identified in the National Population Registry. Results: We identified a total of 406 patients who had an HP diagnosis and where alive when the SPDR started in July 2005. Of the 406 HP patients, 66 % were female and 34 % male. Mean age at the time of the HP diagnosis was 60.5 years (SD 19.6), 58.0 years (SD 21.0) for women and 61.7 years (SD 18.8) for men. 346 had combination treatment with active vitamin D and calcium, 1 had active vitamin D, calcium and PTH, 3 had calcium and PTH, 67 had vitamin D and calcium. The incidence of complications and drug prescriptions other than for HP was investigated in each group. Conclusion: This is the first study of HP using the large Swedish epidemiological registries. The admission rate and the prevalence of comorbidity are studied through the SNPR and the drug prescription patterns before and after HP diagnosis are studied through the SPDR and these are compared to controls. Disclosures: This research was supported by a grant from Shire.

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