Endocrine disorders in a specialist hospital in Jamaica

The objective of this study was to define the types of disease seen at the only endocrine clinic in Jamaica. The diagnoses of all patients attending the endocrinology clinic of the University Hospital of the West Indies over a 7-year period were analysed. Of the 1503 patients attending 263 weekly endocrinology clinics, 1251 patients had thyroid-related diseases, of which 684 patients had thyrotoxicosis and 233 patients had hypothyroidism. There were 17 pituitary tumours, eight cases of Cushing's syndrome and four of acromegaly. Cases of Sheehan's syndrome (n=11), hypopituitarism (n=17), hypoadrenalism (n=13), hypogonadism (n=9), primary hyperparathyroidism (n=3) and phaeochromocytoma (n=3) were rare. Thyroid disease was the most common diagnosis. New emerging endocrine disorders that are public health problems, such as obesity (n 21) and hyperlipidaemia (n=1), were rare. More traditional diseases, such as Sheehan's syndrome have become rare with improvements in obstetric care.