title: Prevalence of thyroid dysfunction among young females in a South Indian population.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Thyroid disorders are common in India but scarce data exists on its prevalence in young women.
  
  
  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.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  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.
authors.affiliation: Alpha Hospital and Research Centre, Madurai, Tamil Nadu, India.
authors.forename: Kumaravel
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Velayutham
authors.affiliation: Alpha Hospital and Research Centre, Madurai, Tamil Nadu, India.
authors.forename: S Sivan Arul
authors.initials: SS
authors.lastname: Selvan
authors.affiliation: Chellaram Diabetes Institute, Pune, Maharashtra, India.
authors.forename: A G
authors.initials: AG
authors.lastname: Unnikrishnan
keywords: Epidemiology; India; hyperthyroidism; hypothyroidism; prevalence; thyroid-stimulating hormone; women