[A preliminary survey of primary hyperparathyroidism in middle-aged and elderly Beijing Chinese].

OBJECTIVE

To study the prevalence of hypercalcemia and primary hyperparathyroidism in middle-aged and elderly Chinese people who live in Beijing.

METHODS

This research was performed in a large elderly population group who came to our hospital for health checkup. The medical histories and relevant data of all the subjects were collected. Serum parathyroid hormone (PTH) concentration was determined in the 83 subjects whose blood calcium level was >or= 2.6 mmol/L. Meanwhile, another 83 of the subjects whose calcium level was < 2.6 mmol/L were chosen randomly as controls.

RESULTS

2451 subjects underwent the investigation. 83 (3.39%) out of the total 2451 subjects were found to have calcium level >or= 2.6 mmol/L, and 5 of them had PTH > 65 ng/L but no causative factors for the elevation. These subjects were thought to have primary hyperparathyroidism and its prevalence was 0.204%.

CONCLUSION

The prevalence of primary hyperparathyroidism was 0.204% in the investigated elderly subjects.