Prevalence of hypothyroidism amongst college girls of Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, India: a cross sectional study

2016-11-24T02-40-43Z
Source: International Journal of Community Medicine and Public Health
Padma Bhatia, Manju Dubey, Yachana Choudhary.
Background: Endocrine disorders are common amongst Indian population, out of which thyroid disorders represent an important subset of these endocrine disorders. According to a projection from various studies on thyroid disease, it has been estimated that about 42 million people in India suffer from thyroid disease. Hypothyroidism in young women is linked to menstrual irregularities, polycystic ovaries and infertility. Also, several studies have highlighted the importance of diagnosing and treating hypothyroidism in pregnancy. So, this study was done to assess the prevalence of hypothyroidism in young women attending college who are going to become pregnant in future. Methods: This was a cross-sectional study done in government PG girls college of Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, from October 2015 to December 2015 (3 months). The study population was the college girls in the age group 17-25 years. After taking permission from principal of the college, a survey was conducted on 249 students of M.L.B Girls College, Bhopal using a semi - structured questionnaire. It was followed by clinical examination of 249 girls and recognizing the high risk group by Zulewskis Scoring Criteria for thyroid dysfunction. Those who were having score of >5 points were taken for TSH estimation to confirm the diagnosis. Girls with history of hypothyroidism and receiving treatment were also included to calculate the prevalence. The data thus obtained was tabulated and analysis was done using MS Excel 2013. Results: Out of 249 girls, 32 girls have score >5. Thus, prevalence by clinical score came out to be 11%. Prevalence by TSH estimation came out to be 7.63%. Conclusions: Since prevalence of hypothyroidism in the college going age group came out to be 7.6% in our study, which is quite prominent and who are destined to conceive in the years to come, hence thyroid screening should be included in medical check-up in all colleges.


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