OBJECTIVES

Few studies have examined large populations of patients with chronic hypoparathyroidism (cHP), a rare endocrine disease characterized by low serum calcium concentrations due to parathyroid hormone (PTH) deficiency. This study employed two strategies to identify and describe cHP population in a US claims database.

METHODS

HealthVerity Closed Payer Claim (Private Source 20) databases (October 2014 – December 2019), with a large HP population, were used to identify cHP patients using two methods. The eligibility criteria for Method 1 (diagnosis-based) were: patients with ≥2 diagnosis claims of HP (6-15 months apart) and a prescription claim for either active vitamin D, calcium, PTH, or thyroid replacement therapy (from first qualifying HP claim within 30 days of second HP claim), and continuously enrolled for 12 months before and ≥16 months after the index date (the date of the first of two qualifying HP diagnosis claims). The eligibility criteria for Method 2 (surgery-based) were: patients with a procedure claim of either complete or partial thyroidectomy, neck dissection, or parathyroidectomy, followed by a first HP diagnosis claim (6-15 months apart) with a subsequent second HP diagnosis claim at any time point, and continuously enrolled for 15 months before and ≥6 months after the index date (the date of the first HP diagnosis claim after surgery).

RESULTS

Among 43,640 patients with ≥1 diagnosis claim for HP, 4,118 were identified as cHP patients by Method 1 (606 common patients with Method 2 were excluded) and 1,406 by Method 2. Method 1 patients had a mean age of 56.5 years and 76.4% were females, whereas Method 2 patients were 52.1 years old on average and 83.2% were females.

CONCLUSIONS

Using the two methodologies, large cHP populations, with demographics consistent with literature, were identified. These cohorts will enable us to assess practice patterns, clinical and economic burden associated with cHP.