Prevalence of thyroid disorders among pregnant mothers of rural Bengaluru

Abstract

INTRODUCTION: Thyroid disorders constitute one of the most common endocrine disorders seen in pregnancy. Thyroid disorders may be overlooked in pregnancy because of nonspecific symptoms and hypermetabolic state of pregnancy. There is also a paucity of data on the prevalence of thyroid disorders in Indian pregnant women. Hence, this study was undertaken to assess the prevalence of thyroid disorders in pregnant women of rural Bengaluru. OBJECTIVES: The objectives of this study were to describe the prevalence of thyroid disorders during pregnancy among the study subjects. MATERIAL AND METHODS: This hospital-based descriptive study was conducted among the antenatal mothers of the community health center of Thyamagondlu in rural Bengaluru. Antenatal mothers who come for antenatal checkup were interviewed and the data were collected using pretested; semi-structured questionnaire. RESULTS: The present study showed that 3% were hyperthyroid, 25% were hypothyroid, 21% had subclinical hypothyroidism, and 4% had overt hypothyroidism. CONCLUSION: The present study showed that the prevalence of thyroid disorders, especially hypothyroidism (25%) was high. This warrants the need for the adoption of appropriate strategies to identify women at risk of thyroid disorders and the implementation of screening tools for its early detection and initiation of effective treatment.

Keywords

• hyperthyroidism
• hypothyroidism
• pregnancy outcome
• thyroid disease