Prevalence of thyroid dysfunction among young females in a South Indian population

BACKGROUND: Thyroid disorders are common in India but scarce data exists on its prevalence in young women. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This study was conducted in female college students in seven colleges in Madurai District, Tamil Nadu. Thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) was used as the screening test to diagnose thyroid dysfunction. The abnormal TSH values were classified as mild TSH elevation (TSH 4.5–10 mIU/ml), significant TSH elevation (TSH > 10 mIU/ml), and low TSH (TSH < 0.4 mIU/ml). RESULTS: A total of 1292 subjects were screened of whom 161 subjects (12.5%) had abnormal TSH. The overall prevalence of elevated TSH was 11% out of which 9.7% had mild TSH elevation. A low TSH was seen in 1.3% of the study population. CONCLUSION: Thyroid dysfunction was common in young women in south India. One out of every eight young women had thyroid dysfunction, and mild TSH elevation was the most common abnormality.