title: Racial disparity in the prevalence of thyroid disorder during pregnancy.
abstract: A study to determine the prevalence of goitre and abnormal thyroid status during pregnancy in Malaysian women was conducted. Two hundred and three women (Malay = 85, Chinese = 47 and Indian = 71) in the third trimester and with no known thyroid disease were studied. There was a marked racial disparity in the prevalence of goitre: Indian 61%, Malay 28% and Chinese 29% (p = 0.001). The serum thyrotropic hormone (TSH) was significantly higher in Indians (median: 1.36 uIU/ml) compared to Malays (1.14 uIU/ml, p = 0.009). The serum albumin was also significantly lower in Indians (mean +/- sd; 36.12 +/- 3.9 mmol/l) compared to Malays (39.3 +/- 4.8 mmol/l) or Chinese (39.1 +/- 5.2) (p < 0.001). Thyroid antibody was detected in 14.6% of these women with no significant racial difference in its prevalence. Three women were found to be thyrotoxic but none were hypothyroid. This study found a high prevalence of goitre among the pregnant Indian women, probably related to the protein malnutrition state. The high prevalence of positive thyroid antibody in our population indicates that a high percentage of women are at risk of developing postpartum thyroiditis.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Jalan Raja Muda, Kuala Lumpur.
authors.forename: S O
authors.initials: SO
authors.lastname: Sakinah
authors.forename: B A
authors.initials: BA
authors.lastname: Khalid
authors.forename: A B
authors.initials: AB
authors.lastname: Aishah
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D002681:China / Q000208:ethnology; D003431:Cross-Cultural Comparison; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006043:Goiter, Endemic / Q000097:blood / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D007194:India / Q000208:ethnology; D008296:Malaysia / Q000453:epidemiology; D011247:Pregnancy; D011248:Pregnancy Complications / Q000097:blood / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology*; D011502:Protein-Energy Malnutrition / Q000097:blood / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology; D012709:Serum Albumin / Q000378:metabolism; D013670:Sodium Pertechnetate Tc 99m; D013959:Thyroid Diseases / Q000097:blood / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology*; D013960:Thyroid Function Tests; D013963:Thyroid Hormones / Q000097:blood; D013967:Thyroiditis, Autoimmune / Q000097:blood / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology; D013972:Thyrotropin / Q000097:blood
chemical_list: D012709:Serum Albumin; D013963:Thyroid Hormones; D013972:Thyrotropin; D013670:Sodium Pertechnetate Tc 99m