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Hyperthyroidism affects about 2% of women. It is often treated with radioactive iodine, but the long-term effects of this disease on mortality are not well known. This study compared mortality data for a population-based U.K. cohort of 7,209 subjects with hyperthyroidism, treated with radioactive iodine between 1950 and 1989, against age-specific mortality data for England and Wales. Eighty-three percent of the subjects were female.
During 105,028 person-years of follow-up, the standardized mortality ratio (SMR) -- observed versus expected deaths -- was 1.1 (95% CI, 1.1 to 1.2). The excess deaths were mainly from thyroid disease itself (SMR, 24.8); elevations were also found for cardiovascular disease (notably rheumatic and hypertensive hear…