Assessment of Iodine Deficiency Hypothroidism in Women of Reproductive Age Groups: A Prevalence Study

Indian women of reproductive age groups commonly suffer from Hypothyroidism due to Iodine deficiency causes. This study was undertaken with a view to ascertain the leading cause of Hypothyroidism in women of reproductive age groups residing in Sub-Himalayan plain areas of Darjeeling District of West Bengal. Serum TSH, T₄, T₃ and Urinary Iodine Excretion (UIE) levels were measured in 101 Non pregnant women. Our results reveal that among 37.62% (n=38) of bio-chemically established Hypothyroid women; majority 76.32% (n=29) are suffering from iodine deficiency and the rest 23.68% (n=9) have Hypothyroidism is due to other causes. Moreover, iodine deficiency persists among 57.42% (n=5 8) of the women in our study. We conclude that iodine deficiency disorders are still a major problem in this region and hypothyroidism due to iodine deficiency is more prevalent than the non-iodine deficiency causes. Hence lacunae in the Iodine supplementation Process needs to be reviewed.