Subclinical hypothyroidism in paediatric population treated with levothyroxine: a real-world study on 2001-2014 Italian administrative data.

Objective: To estimate the prevalence of subclinical hypothyroidism (SH) among children, by using levothyroxine low dosage as disease proxy, and to describe prescription pattern.

Design: An historical cohort study was performed through administrative databases of 12 Italian Local Health Units covering 3,079,141 inhabitants. A cohort of children (aged 0-13 years) was selected in the period 2001-2014.