30% people suffer from thyroid disorders in country: Experts

Banker Sumaiya Shayla is blessed with two daughters. But once Shayla was worried about the future of her eldest child as she suffered throughout the year due to hormonal imbalances widely known as thyroid problems. 

Being precautious, she got the thyroid test done for her three-year-old daughter at the Dhanmondi-5 thyroid centre. The medical report of the tests said that her daughter was all right, much to make Shayla relaxed.

According to the latest information provided by the Bangladesh Endocrine Society, currently many people in the country are affected by thyroid disease, which is nearly 30% of the total population.

However, 60% of these patients do not know that they are suffering from thyroid problems due to non-diagnosis, as common people are not aware of the disorder as its symptoms do not appear quickly.

Among these, about 2% of adult women and about 0.2% of men suffer from hyperthyroidism.

About 7% of adult men and women suffer from subclinical hypothyroidism.

Meanwhile, one child out of every 2,300 children is born with thyroid problems. However, people between the ages of 20 and 30 are more likely to be affected by this fatal disease.

Thyroid disease, according to physicians, is caused by an imbalance of the hormones released by the thyroid gland in the human body. There are three types of thyroid disease - hormonal imbalance, enlarged thyroid, or cancer. Most of these patients have low thyroid hormone production or deficiency, and some have more.

Talking to the BSS, Head of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University's (BSMMU) Department of Nuclear Medicine and Thyroid Specialist Dr AKM Fazlul Bari said, "Thyroid is a deadly disease. Because it nests silently in the human body . . . It damages the body before the patient realizes the infection. That's why we call it the silent killer."

Prof Bari said heredity has an effect on spreading the thyroid disease, especially if grandparents or mothers have thyroid problems; children have 70% chance of developing thyroid disease.

About the disease's symptoms, the doctors said if it is seen that someone's body weight is suddenly increasing or decreasing, excessive sweating, feeling cold or hot, body aches, hair loss, or skin problems, then it should be assumed that he or she is at risk of thyroid.

The General Secretary of the Endocrine Society and BSMMU Associate Professor of Endocrinology Department Dr Shahzada Salim said thyroid hormone should be tested in children with low physical and mental growth, low intelligence, disability, and obesity, apart from skin and heart problems.

He also said, "This disease is more common in women than in men. Irregular periods in women can lead to premature miscarriage or infertility due to hormonal fluctuations in some cases."

Thyroid experts said it is very important to check the thyroid at four stages or times in life to avoid this deadly disease -- first, immediately after the birth of the child, second, during adolescence; third, mothers need to get their thyroid checked before they get pregnant; and fourth, after the age of 40.

BIRDEM General Hospital Director (Education) Professor Faruk Pathan said, to avoid the disease, one must eat iodized salt. Women should also stay away from radiation in most cases, during the pregnancy. If the thyroid is enlarged or cancerous due to cancer or any other reason, it should be surgically removed.

Dr Farhana Dewan, president of the Obstetrical and Gynaecological Society of Bangladesh (OGSB), said there is no alternative to increasing awareness and proper treatment of thyroid disease. 

BSMMU's Thyroid Clinic is the only integrated Thyroid Clinic in the country, serving people for the last 30 years through the Department of Nuclear Medicine and Surgery. 

Besides, thyroid treatment is going on in almost every medical college, including BIRDEM Hospital, Dhaka Medical College and Hospital, and any hormone department and nuclear medicine centre of any medical college in the country.