The Prevalence of Thyroid Dysfunction in Women of Sub Himalayan Region Undergoing Routine Health Screening

Background: There is limited data regarding the prevalence of thyroid disorders in women in India in general and of Himachal in particular, and this study assesses the thyroid disorder prevalence in women of Hamirpur district of Himachal, reporting in tertiary care Hospital.Methods: All women who underwent blood sampling for estimation of thyroid function tests (TFTs) on their initial visit to the Hospital were included in the study. Results:The study population included 1766 subjects from 18 to 50 years, and the mean age of study population was 27.56 years.They were divided in groups, 18 to 25 (40.2%),26-35 (51.5%), 36-45 (7.5%) and >45 years (0.8%).Among these women, 1511 were referred by Anti Natal clinic and 255 were from rest of the Hospital.The mean age of ANC patients was 26.57 and of Non ANC was 33.41. Conclusions:The thyroid function abnormalities are common in females and the prevalence increases with age.The prevalence rates of thyroid function disorders on the basis of uniform criteria for both pregnant and non-pregnant females were 7.18%, 11.41%, 23.66% and 42.86% in age groups of 18-25, 26-35, 36-45 and ≥ 45 years respectively.Overall prevalence of thyroid function disorders in females was 10.88% on screening and hypothyroidism (7.88%) being more common than hyperthyroidism (3%).The primary hypothyroidism (77.7%) was the commonest abnormality, followed by subclinical hypothyroidism (16.6%), secondary hyperthyroidism (5.7%) in the hypothyroid patients.While in hyperthyroid group of patients, the pattern was: subclinical (41.5%), followed by secondary (30.2%) and primary (30.2%).