Factors responsible for the persistence of Hypothyroidism among Pakistani Women

Abstract

Substantial change in climate over the years in South Asia is directly affecting the diet and health of the population. It is important to analyze the aftermath of this change and its impact on the thyroid status. In recent years, a complex interplay of the changing climate with the environmental, geographical and dietary factors has contributed to the continued prevalence of hypothyroidism in Pakistani women. To study the influence of various factors which might be aggravating hypothyroidism in the female population of Pakistan, a thorough search of literature was conducted of various databases including Google Scholar and PubMed. Google as a search engine was also explored. This included both interventional and observational studies, published in English, from the year 1950 onwards uptil June 2023. It also included WHO website and local news clips about the awareness campaigns on iodine deficiency over the past years. All studies conducted on females to diagnose hypothyroidism, with both positive and negative outcomes were included in this study. The factors contributing to hypothyroidism among the female population in Pakistan encompass the effects of climate change, both direct and indirect, topographical factor, indiscriminate use of hazardous pesticides, presence of chemical contaminants in food and water, and a lack of awareness among the public and healthcare professionals about the condition’s symptoms and management. doi: https://doi.org/10.12669/pjms.40.1.8446 How to cite this: Hidayat M. Factors responsible for the persistence of Hypothyroidism among Pakistani Women. Pak J Med Sci. 2024;40(1):---------. doi: https://doi.org/10.12669/pjms.40.1.8446 This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.