Otherindependent cross-checkmetadata only checked I-ORG-01 standard review
Korea's thyroid cancer 'epidemic'
Korea's thyroid-cancer "epidemic"--screening and overdiagnosis.
Overview
Ahn HS, Kim HJ, Welch HG. N Engl J Med 2014 · PMID 25372084 · DOI 10.1056/NEJMp1409841
Title indicates screening-driven overdiagnosis; content not verified here.
Does the study support the specific claim? Unclear · Methodological quality: moderate
Plain-language summary
Study explained simply
- What did the researchers want to find out?
Overdiagnosis
- How was the study done?
Perspective
- How many people, animals or samples were studied?
n/a
- What was actually found?
Not extracted
- How large was the observed effect?
n/a
- What do the results mean in everyday life?
n/a
- What are the study's limitations?
Not accessed
- What does it say about Elawady's specific claim?
See I-ORG-02
- Do the results apply to Germany and Europe?
n/a
- What can explicitly not be concluded from this study?
Any numeric statement
Scientific in-depth review
1. Full reference
- Authors
- Ahn HS, Kim HJ, Welch HG
- Journal
- N Engl J Med
- Year
- 2014
- Identifier
- PMID 25372084 DOI 10.1056/NEJMp1409841
- Verification
- verified – PubMed efetch 2026-10-25; no abstract in PubMed; full text not accessible (publisher access check blocked)
- Retracted
- no
- Corrections
- none
- Extent checked
- bibliographic data only (no abstract accessible)
- Conflicts of interest and funding
not stated in abstract
2. Research question
Thyroid cancer screening and overdiagnosis in South Korea
3. Study design and population
- Study design
- Other – Perspective article (NEJM)
- Country
South Korea
4. Methods and endpoints
5. Actual results
- Results
Not extracted: no abstract available and full text not accessed. No numbers from this article are used in this project.
- Absolute risks
not reported
- Authors' conclusion
Not extracted (see title).
6. Strengths
- Widely cited analysis by the authors of I-ORG-02
7. Weaknesses
- Content not verified by this project beyond metadata
8. Risk of bias
- Orienting tool
- none applicable
- Type of assessment
- simplified assessment (abstract only)
- Full formal assessment
- no
- Overall risk of bias
- not assessable
9. Assessment of the statistical interpretation
10. Relevance to the specific claim
Named by the coordinator; the same authors' peer-reviewed Thyroid 2016 analysis (I-ORG-02) is used for numbers instead.
11. Independent contrary findings
12. Transferability to Germany and Europe
Korea-specific screening context.
13. Overall methodological judgement
Metadata verified only.
| Multidimensional assessment | |
|---|---|
| Authenticity of the source | verified |
| Methodological quality | moderate |
| Risk of bias | not assessable |
| Precision of results | not applicable |
| Directness | direct |
| Reproducibility | replicated |
| Consistency with the overall evidence | consistent |
| Regional transferability | moderate |
| Adequacy of the interpretation (by the archive) | not applicable |
14. Open questions
15. Linked fact checks
- Thyroid cancer diagnoses tripled (US 1975-2009) while mortality stayed flat — an epidemic of diagnosis (overdiagnosis), driving avoidable thyroid surgery. – Studies with mixed or unclear results