PURPOSE: Thyroid nodules are a common disease in clinical practice. The prevalence of thyroid nodules has recently increased according to the development of thyroid ultrasonography. Thyroid nodules are more commonly found in women, but the potential for malignant nodules is much higher in men. The purpose of this study was to assess clinical characteristics and the incidence of thyroid nodules and malignancy in the adult male population. METHODS: Clinical characteristics and incidence of thyroid nodules was examined by screening ultrasonography targeting 6,968 male patients over the age of 40 who visited the National Police Hospital from January 2012 and April 2015. RESULTS: Among 6,968 male patients, 2,481 (35.6%) showed abnormal findings on ultrasonography. Of the 2,481 patients, 2,370 patients (34.01%) had a thyroid nodule and 111 patients (4.47%) had thyroiditis without a thyroid nodule, previous thyroidectomy, lymphadenopathy, esophageal diverticulum, parathyroid cyst, and benign calcification. Of the 2,481 patients, 958 patients (38.6%) had abnormal TFT and 204 patients (8.22%) had thyroiditis with or without a thyroid nodule. Thyroid nodules were benign in 1993 (80.33%) cases, indeterminate in 313 (12.61%) cases, and suspicious in 64 (2.56%) cases. Among the 2,481 subjects, thyroid cancer was detected in 37 subjects (1.49%). CONCLUSION: The incidence of thyroid nodules has recently increased according to the development of thyroid ultrasonography.
Adult ; Diverticulum, Esophageal ; Female ; Humans ; Incidence* ; Lymphatic Diseases ; Male* ; Mass Screening ; Police ; Prevalence ; Thyroid Gland* ; Thyroid Neoplasms ; Thyroid Nodule* ; Thyroidectomy ; Thyroiditis ; Ultrasonography