The prevalence of thyroid disease in India is higher than the diabetes. In India currently it is about 11% which is almost double the number grabbed by diabetes that is 5.4% of the country’s population.
Treating thyroid is costlier than the abortion it triggers said the white paper. The white paper on “Impact and Assessment of thyroid and influenza disorders on mother and child health” was launched by FICCI and Frost and Sullivan, a company working to address the global challenges.
It said that there was not much difference between private and public healthcare settings when it comes to screening for thyroid. In India hypothyroidism in newborn is about 1 in 800 very high compared to world data of 1 in 3800.
In such situations screening for thyroid becomes significantly important. According to a study by global research and counselling organisation, screening rate of thyroid disorder is very low in India.
The white paper reveals that less than a quarter pregnant women are screened for thyroid disorder. While less than 5% women are counselled on thyroid disorder, its prevention and ans treatment during antenatal treatment. the prevalence of thyroid disorder screening is about 5-10% in govt. and 20-25% in private hospital.