Epidemiology
This disorder is believed to be the most common cause of primary hypothyroidism in North America; as a cause of non-endemic goiter, it is among the most common. An average of 1 to 1.5 in a 1000 people have this disease. It occurs far more often in women than in men (between 10:1 and 20:1), and is most prevalent between 45 and 65 years of age. Occurrence in children is also not uncommon, especially in populations wherein iodine is a dietary scarcity, Hashimoto's is a major cause of goiter.
In European countries, an atrophic form of autoimmune thyroiditis (Ord's thyroiditis) is more common than Hashimoto's thyroiditis.
Read more about this topic: Hashimoto's Thyroiditis