Prevalence and pattern of thyroid disorders among patients attending University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital, Enugu, Southeastern Nigeria

INTRODUCTION: Thyroid disorders (TDs) remain the second-most common endocrine disease after diabetes worldwide. Recently, there has been increased interest in the prevalence and pattern of TD based on the fact that it accelerates cardiovascular complications. However, there are limited data on the prevalence and pattern of TDs in the University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital (UNTH) Enugu, Southeast Nigeria. OBJECTIVES: We studied prevalence and pattern of TDs as seen in patients attending UNTH, Enugu, Nigeria. METHODS: This study was conducted in the Outpatient Department of UNTH Enugu from January 2016 to January 2019. Demographic and clinical data collected include age, gender, anthropometrics, clinical features, and associated complications of TDs. The patients were grouped as hyperthyroidism, hypothyroidism, and euthyroid sick syndrome (ESS) according to symptoms, signs, thyroid function test, liver function test, fasting blood sugar, and cholesterol. RESULTS: A total of 260 patients (210 females and 50 males) with a mean age of 49.22 ± 9.79 years reflected overall prevalence rate of 2.4%. The prevalence of hyperthyroidism 150 (58%), hypothyroidism 100 (39%), and (ESS) 10 (3.9%) was 1.4%, 0.9%, and 0.09%, respectively. Hypertension 34.3%, heart failure 26.7%, and atrial fibrillation 20% seen in Grave's disease were the most common cause of hospitalization and death. CONCLUSION: Grave's disease is the most common cause of TDs and occurs more in females than males in this study. We observed that hypertension, heart failure, and atrial fibrillation are promoters of complication in TDs. Health system facilities need to be strengthened in this area to improve the detection and management of TDs.