The Significant Increase in Incidence of Graves' Disease in Eastern Serbia During the Civil War in the Former Yugoslavia (1992 to 1995)

The incidence of Graves' disease for the last 25 years in eastern Serbia (Yugoslavia), Timok Region is reported. Registration of all Graves' disease patients was conducted in the Endocrinology-Thyroid Unit of Nuclear Medicine Service, Medical Center Zajecar. Timok Region has a population of 315,000 people in seven counties. From 1971 to 1980 an average of 16 new patients per year were registered; from 1981 to 1990 an average of 33 patients per year were registered; in 1995 the number reached 100, and in 1996 there were 148 newly registered patients. Some of the possible factors influencing this significant annual increase of autoimmune hyperthyroidism are discussed.