Prevalence of Thyroid Disorders among Somali Women of Childbearing Age at Mogadishu, Somalia

Background: Thyroid diseases are among the most prevalent of medical conditions, and considered the most prevalent disorders in women during their most fertile years (15 - 35 Years), and can adversely affect obstetric outcomes. The aim of the study was to determine the frequency of Thyroid dysfunction disorders among among Somali Women of Childbearing Age at Mogadishu, Somalia. Materials and methods: This study was descriptive cross-sectional Hospital-based study conducted at Jazeera University Hospital, Mogadishu, Somalia during the period of December 2022 to April 2023. a total of 100 subjects were included in the study. A total of five ml of whole blood was collected from each participant into sterile plain containers for thyroid hormones estimation. Estimation of thyroid hormones was done by using ELISA machine (Maglumi 800). The data was gathered using per-designed structural questionnaire and the SPSS 26.0 statistical software (SPSS Inc., USA) was used for statistical analysis. Results: The age of the study population ranges from 15–40 years with a mean age of 25.4 ± 8.11 years. There was insignificant correlation between the age and the frequency of thyroid dysfunction with P-value of 0.453. According to their BMI maximum respondents 42 (42%) were grouped under normal BMI, 40 (40%) respondents were over weighted, 2 (2%) of the respondents were grouped underweight and 16 (16%) were obese. The family history of thyroid dysfunction was found in 51% of the study population where 49% of them had no family history of thyroid dysfunction. For the laboratory diagnosis, maximum respondents were Euthyroid 87 (87%) followed by 8(8%) of respondents, were hyperthyroid and 5(5%) respondents had hypothyroid. Conclusion: This study concluded that there is a slightly higher frequency of thyroid dysfunction disorders among Somali Women of Childbearing Age. Keywords: Thyroid dysfunction, hyperthyrodism, hypothyrodism, childbearing age