A Survey on Thyroid Disorders and its Predisposing Factors in the Telangana Population

Background: Thyroid disorder is becoming increasingly common in India. Thyroid disorder affects around forty million people in India. The number of cases in Telangana is increasing at an alarming rate. This survey aims to investigate the causes of an increase in thyroidism cases and to present data for debate at a thyroid problems symposium. Materials and Methods: The current online survey has been conducted by posing 22 questions regarding the type of thyroid disorders and the predisposing factors responsible for it by distributing online Google forms randomly to a large group of the Telangana population which includes 2000 individuals. Results: The results obtained from the survey indicated that the most common thyroid disorder prevailing in Telangana is Hypothyroidism. Females are affected most with hypothyroidism to an extent of 62.3%. The cases of Hypothyroidism in pregnancy were found to be less (27.4%) in comparison to non-pregnant females (72.6%). Vegetables and fruits were found to be included very less in their respective diets (16.9%). Majority of the Hypothyroid patients have shown disinterest (68.4%) in performing exercises during Hypothyroid episodes. In many female hypothyroid participants, there are menstrual irregularities. TSH estimation remains the most popular test among the thyroid patients. Conclusion: The outcome of the current survey suggests that there is a need to maintain a healthy diet which includes fruits and vegetables and regular exercises to maintain a healthy BMI. Females are advised to focus on the menstrual irregularities due to Hypothyroidism. If the above suggested measures were taken, then the hypothyroidism can be effectively controlled in Telangana where the incidences are alarmingly high.