Thyroid disease awareness is associated with high rates of identifying subjects with previously undiagnosed thyroid dysfunction.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Conventional screening for hypothyroidism is controversial. Although hypothyroidism is underdiagnosed, many organizations do not recommend screening, citing low disease prevalence in unselected populations. We studied attendees at a thyroid health fair, hypothesizing that certain patient characteristics would enhance the yield of testing.

Methods

We carried out an observational study of participants at a Michigan health fair that focused on thyroid disease. We collected patient-reported symptoms and demographics by questionnaire, and correlated these with the TSH values obtained through the health fair.

Results

794 of 858 health fair attendees participated. Most were women, and over 40% reported a family history of thyroid disease. We identified 97 (12.2%)

SUBMITTER: Canaris GJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3643833 | biostudies-literature | 2013 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature