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Updated: Mar 28, 2026
Author Spotlight: Integrating Ultrasound Imaging with Biochemical Markers for Thyroid Disease Diagnosis
Published on: February 9, 2024
Prevalence of thyroid dysfunction among young females in a South Indian population
Kumaravel Velayutham1, S Sivan Arul Selvan1, A G Unnikrishnan2
1Alpha Hospital and Research Centre, Madurai, Tamil Nadu, India.
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.
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