Introduction: India is a developing country with a population of about 1.3 billion. Non communicable diseases contribute for around 60% of all fatalities in India. Thyroid disorders are among the most common endocrine disorders in clinical practice. Hypothyroidism is believed to be a common health issue in India, as it is worldwide. However, there is a paucity of data on the prevalence of hypothyroidism in adult population of India.
Methodology:The research design was an institution based, single centered, observational descriptive study, cross sectional in design and was carried out for a duration of 28 days (4 weeks) from 01.06.2024 to 29.06.2024. The study was conducted in the Outpatient Department (OPD) of Regimenal therapies, National Institute of Unani Medicine (NIUM), Bengaluru. Thyroid abnormalities were diagnosed on the basis of laboratory results (serum FT3, FT4 and Thyroid Stimulating Hormone [TSH]). Patients with history of hypothyroidism and receiving levothyroxine therapy or those with serum free T4< 0.89 ng/dl and TSH >5.50 μIU/ml, were categorized as hypothyroid.The prevalence of self reported and undetected hypothyroidism was assessed.Data analysis was done using SPSS version 24.
Results: A total of 550 adult male or non-pregnant female participants ≥ 21 years of age were enrolled, of which 524 ( 54% females and 46% males) were evaluated. The overall prevalence of hypothyroidism was 07% (n=37, 95% CI) of which 4% (n =21) patients self reported the condition, whereas 3% (n =16) were previously undetected. Additionally, 4% (n =21) patients were diagnosed to have subclinical hypothyroidism (normal serum free T4 and TSH >5.50 μIU/ml.In the present study, 75.68% of diagnosed hypothyroid patients were females and rest 24.32% were males. Majority of diagnosed patients (32.43%) belonged to the age group of above 31-40 years.
Conclusion:The prevalence of hypothyroidism was high, affecting approximately one in 14 adults in the study population. Female gender and Diabetes were found to have significant association with hypothyroidism. Subclinical hypothyroidism was the other common observation.
