Abstract
Introduction
Hyperthyroidism is one of the primary dysfunctional thyroid diseases that results from abnormally high thyroid hormone secretion. It leads to metabolic derangement that manifests as heightened vital functions and metabolism and hyperdynamic blood circulation. Hyperthyroidism jeopardizes one’s quality of life and hampers the patient’s job performance. The disease is chronic but diagnosable and treatable and can be kept under control medically. We aimed to estimate the prevalence of suspected hyperthyroidism cases among a population sample in Jeddah city by using Wayne’s scoring and delineation of factors associated with the disease.
Materials and methods
A cross-sectional study design was used. A total of 346 participants were conveniently selected from two shopping malls in Jeddah city during a five-day health awareness campaign. The data were collected by certified physicians, according to Wayne’s score inventory.
Results
The study included 194 women (56.1%) and 152 men (43.9%). The participants’ ages ranged from 16 to 56 years. The Wayne’s scores showed 80.6% were euthyroid, 18.2% equivocal, and 1.2% have hyperthyroidism. Bronchial asthma was significantly associated with hyperthyroidism in men, while obesity was significantly associated with hyperthyroidism in women. Age, gender, level of education, and family history of chronic diseases, including thyroid disorders, were not significantly associated with hyperthyroidism.
Conclusions
Wayne’s scoring for hyperthyroidism, which is a noninvasive tool, in addition to its detection of hyperthyroidism cases, can predict patients with equivocal results or those that might be subclinical for further medical assessment and follow-up. A Wayne’s score can give the results of hyperthyroidism comparable to the results obtained by biochemical investigations. This tool is not in common use, but it is quite useful and should be put into broader usage.