In order to study the prevalence of hypothyroidism in the women of reproductive age group (15-45 years) of Meghalaya, serum samples collected from non-pregnant and pregnant women were screened for total T-4 (thyroxine) and TSH (thyrotropin) with the help of radioimmuno assay and immunoradiometric assay. In the non-pregnant women of age group 36-45 years, the prevalence of hypothyroidism was found to be 3.33%, while among pregnant women, in the age group 15-25 years a prevalence of 3.70% was recorded. When all samples were considered together, a prevalence of 1.11% and 1.43% was noted in the non-pregnant and the pregnant women, respectively. An average prevalence of 1.25% was recorded among the women of the reproductive age irrespective of status. Thus, the prevalence of hypothyroidism in the women of Meghalaya seems to be very high as compared to that of the nonendemic goitre belt of India (0.071%). [References: 19]
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