Statistics related to the endocrine system

Consider the following statistics, as they relate to the endocrine system:

• About 210,000 people with acute pancreatitis are admitted to hospitals in the United States each year.

• Addison's disease and Cushing's syndrome are rare diseases that involve the adrenal glands.

• Hyperthyroidism (an overactive thyroid) affects 1 percent of the U.S. population.

• The most common form of thyroid disorders, hypothyroidism (underactive thyroid), affects nearly 5 percent of Americans over age 12. It occurs more frequently in older women, and is 10 times more common in women than in men.

• Hyperparathyroidism, in which the parathyroid is overactive, affects about 100,000 adults in the U.S.

• Diabetes mellitus remains the most costly chronic disease in the United States. In 2012, the American Diabetes Association estimated the annual cost of diagnosed diabetes to be $245 billion.