A study by a global research body has said that screening rate for thyroid disorders among pregnant women is very low in India — in public as well as private health set ups.
less than 5 per cent women are counselled on thyroid disorders, prevention and treatment during antenatal care, according to a whitepaper Impact and assessment of thyroid disorders on mother and child health: Possible policy interventions, by the research organisation Frost &Sullivan.
“There is not much difference between public health service providers and private health care settings when it comes to screening for thyroid and no difference between a Tier 1 or Tier 2 hospital,” said the report.
It noted that with congenital hypothyroidism situation in India is becoming alarming with an abnormally high rate of 1 in 800 neonates (newborns) as against a global average of 1:3,800. “Congenital hypothyroidism requires early diagnosis (within the first seven days of birth), which is usually followed by appropriate therapy that can prevent the further brain damage,” it said.
Congenital hypothyroidism is inadequate thyroid hormone production in newborn infants. It can occur because of an anatomic defect in the gland, an inborn error of thyroid metabolism, or iodine deficiency.
Similarly, the most common thyroid dysfunction is subclinical hypothyroidism, in which T4 is normal but TSH is slightly elevated. Vandana Gurnani, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Health said that the whitepaper shows that now there is need to improve diagnosis and treatment of thyroid disorders.
While asserting that there needs to have adequate data based on Indian setting, Dr CS Bal, Professor, Department of Nuclear Medicine, AIIMS, Delhi and President Indian Thyroid Society said that “thyroid screening is very essential especially because it is a good opportunity to detect thyroid in pregnant women at an early stage.”