Thyroid diseases in black patients.

During the 26-year period, January 1, 1950 to December 31, 1975, inclusively, there were 680 thyroidectomies for clinical evidence of primary thyroid disease performed at the Howard University Hospital (0.6 percent of routine surgicals). There were 595 female and 85 male patients (ratio 7:1). All of the patients were black. In the 680 cases, the incidence of carcinoma was 4.6 percent, adenoma 11.3 percent, nodular goiter 51.9 percent, diffuse hyperplasia 21.3 percent, various thyroiditis 7.1 percent, and miscellaneous conditions 3.8 percent. A statistical analysis, together with a brief review of the literature on each entity, will be presented.