Prevalence of thyroid disorder among young adults in the rural areas of Wardha district: A cross-sectional study

BACKGROUND AND AIM: Recently, it has been revealed that most thyroid disorders occur among females and that the factors contributing to this are infertility and sex hormone imbalance. Other research studies showed both genders are equally affected. Therefore, this study aims to estimate the prevalence rate of thyroid disorder among young adults in the rural areas of Wardha district and correlate the results with demographic variables. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A cross-sectional research design was used in this study. One thousand males and females were involved in the study. The Calbiotech Thyroxine Elisa kit was used to check the prevalence rate of thyroid disorder. Data were analysed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) and released in 2016. RESULTS: Among the rural villages of Wardha district, Seloo, Salod (Hirapur) and Kelzar were included in the study. It was found that in Seloo, 154 (49.04%) young adults had normal thyroid function, 105 (33.44%) had hyperthyroidism and 55 (17.52%) participants had hypothyroidism. Salod (Hirapur) showed 210 (47.95%) with normal thyroid function, 149 (34.02%) with hyperthyroidism and 79 (18.04%) with hypothyroidism. In Kelzar, there were 121 (48.79%) with normal thyroid function, 80 (32.26%) with hyperthyroidism and 47 (18.95%) with hypothyroidism. CONCLUSION: Prevalence of thyroid disorder revealed that majority of the thyroid problems were found among females in the rural areas of Wardha district. There are various problems in rural areas, such as lack of medical facilities and laboratory facilities to diagnose thyroid dysfunction early. It is recommended that health check-up camps be conducted in rural areas and health education be given to young adults about thyroid disorders and their prevention measures for promotion of health free from a thyroid disorder.