Thyroid Dysfunction and Risk Factors Among Adult People in Sulaimani Province/Kurdistan-Iraq.

Thyroid disease is one of the most common endocrine disorders in recent years, including hypothyroidism and hyperthyroidism. The main cause of hypothyroidism globally is iodine deficiency. However, the major thyroid disease is an autoimmune thyroid disease. The current study aimed to find out the rate of thyroid dysfunction and determine the risk factors correlated with thyroid dysfunction among adult people in Sulaimani city/Kurdistan region of Iraq. In the current study, 254 adults (male=120, female=134) were enrolled. The participants were randomly selected and the questionnaire form, which covers information about factors associated with thyroidal dysfunctions, was filled by each participant. The information included: age, sex, body mass index (BMI), physical activity, and diet. Five ml of venous blood was taken from all participants and T3, T4, and TSH were detected. The results found that 45.3% of people had abnormal levels of thyroidal hormones. The results indicated that thyroid disorders were higher significantly between female groups (60.4%) and people without physical activity (56.2%). However, there were no significant differences between age groups, normal or overweight, and healthy or unhealthy food consumers. In conclusion, approximately half of adult people in Sulaimani city had abnormal levels of thyroid hormones and it was more common among females who had no physical activity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]