Thyroid camp reveals 4.2 cr citizens could be victims

Mumbai, May 16 (UNI) The ongoing ''Think Thyroid'' campaign has revealed that up to 4.2 crore Indians could be suffering from thyroid with majority of the sufferers being women, who are five to eight times more prone than men.

One in eight women is likely to develop thyroid in her lifetime, with Hypothyroidism being the most common thyroid disorder, which manifests itself with symptoms of fatigue, weight gain, intolerance to cold, sleepiness, depression, enlarged thyroid (goitre), dry, coarse skin and hair, hoarse voice, forgetfulness and constipation, a release issued by the organisers Abbott India said.

''Given that women are more prone to Thyroid than men, the main goal is to get more and more women to get themselves tested for Thyroid at an early stage. We want to create awareness of the fact that Thyroid can be managed with affordable medication and should not be ignored,'' city-based Endocrinologist Dr Manoj Chadha said.

A manageable disorder, if detected well in time, doctors advocate consulting physicians, undertaking a simple blood test called the Thyroid Stimulating Hormone (TSH).

An easy self-examination called the Thyroid Self Test to detect an enlarged thyroid gland can also be conducted at home, the organisers conducting awareness camps across 25 cities informed.

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