Thyroid Profile Abnormalities in Pediatric Population and their Correlation with Age: A Cross-Sectional Study at a Tertiary Care Hospital of South Punjab
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.51985/Keywords:
Autoimmune thyroiditis, Hyperthyroidism, Hypothyroidism, Thyroid function testsAbstract
Objective: To determine prevalence and pattern of thyroid profile abnormalities (hypothyroidism, hyperthyroidism, subclinical hypothyroidism, and subclinical hyperthyroidism) in pediatric population and to correlate these abnormalities with age in children presenting to a tertiary care hospital of South Punjab.
Study design and setting: This cross-sectional study was conducted for two months from 5-Dec-2024 to 5-Feb-2025 in Pathology department of Children Hospital and Institute of Child Health (CH & ICH) Multan.
Methodology: All the patients of 1-14 years whose thyroid profile was requested for any clinical indication were included in the study using consecutive sampling technique. Participants were divided into 3 age groups of 1-5 years, 6-10 years and 11-14 years. Data was entered and analyzed using SPSS 22. P-value of <0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: Among 200 children included in the study 60(30%) were found to have thyroid disorders. Subclinical hypothyroidism was seen in 36(60%) children and was most common thyroid disorder. Thyroid disorders were slightly more common in females. Difference of Mean T3, T4 and TSH in various thyroid disorders was statistically significant with p value of 0.000.
Majority of the children (44%) were in 1-5 years age group. No correlation was found between age of the patients and thyroid disorders (r=0.004, sig. 2 tailed=0.966).
Conclusion: Subclinical hypothyroidism is the most common thyroid disorder among children and thyroid profile abnormalities are not related to age.
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