Prevalence of Thyroid Disorder in Pregnant Women Visiting a Tertiary Care Teaching Hospital: A Descriptive Cross-sectional Study

INTRODUCTION: The function of the thyroid gland is altered during pregnancy. Thyroid disorders during pregnancy are associated with serious maternal and fetal outcomes. Universal screening for thyroid disorders is recommended in the first trimester of pregnancy. This study aims to determine the prevalence of thyroid disorder during pregnancy in women attending a tertiary care hospital. METHODS: A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology of Kathmandu Medical College and Teaching Hospital from March 2020 to August 2020 after obtaining ethical approval from the Institutional Review committee with reference number 20032020. The pregnant women >18 years of age, irrespective of their gestational age and gravida status, were included in the study by convenience sampling method. The participants were screened by estimation of thyroid function test. Data were collected, and statistical analysis was done in Statistical Packages for Social Services version 20.0. RESULTS: A total of 329 pregnant women were included in this study. The prevalence of thyroid disorders in the present study is 24.62%. The most common thyroid disorder observed was subclinical hypothyroidism comprising 65 (19.75%) cases followed by overt hypothyroidism 8 (2.43%) cases. CONCLUSIONS: There is a high prevalence of thyroid disorders during pregnancy in our settings. Timely screening of pregnant women helps in the early diagnosis and management of complications related to thyroid disorders.