Screening rate for thyroid disorders very low in India: study

Screening rate for thyroid disorders is "very low" in India with not much difference between public health service providers and private health care settings in this area, a study by a global research and consulting organisation has claimed.
"Less than a quarter of the pregnant women are screened for thyroid disorders currently. Less than 5 per cent women are counselled on thyroid disorders, prevention and treatment during antenatal care.
"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," according to Frost & Sullivan Research which released two whitepapers today.

The prevalence of thyroid screening ranges between 5-10 per cent in government hospitals and 20-25 in private hospitals, it said.
According to one of the whitepapers, congenital hypothyroidism situation in India is "alarming" with an abnormally high rate of 1 in 800 neonates as against a global average of 1 in 3,800 neonates (newborns) suffering from hypothyroidism.
"Hence universal screening of pregnant women and of neonates is critical. 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," the research said.

The whitepapers also highlight that though the prevalence rate of diabetes (5.4 per cent) is lower than that of thyroid disease (10.95 per cent in non-pregnant context and 14.3 per cent in case of pregnant women), less is being done for thyroid screening and management in the health care sector in India.

A whitepaper also claimed that vaccination against influenza is also very low in the country.
It further claimed that pregnant women are at an "18-fold higher risk of hospitalisation" as compared to healthy non-pregnant women during both pandemic and inter-pandemic influenza periods.
"There is poor uptake of influenza vaccination during pregnancy in northern India. Among 1,000 women aged 18-41 years (13.6 per cent first trimester, 26.8 per cent second trimester), none was offered or received influenza vaccination," the whitepaper claimed.
Vandana Gurnani, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Health said, "India has made tremendous progress in bringing down maternal and child mortality over the years and this has been possible by introducing multiple interventions at various stages before, during and post pregnancy. These whitepapers show that now there is need to improve diagnosis and treatment of thyroid disorders and a possible need for vaccination for pregnant women.