Frequency of thyroid disorders in children with obesity.

Abstract

Objective: To determine the frequency of thyroid disorders among children with obesity attending public sector hospital of Karachi, Pakistan. Study Design: Descriptive, Cross-sectional. Setting: Departments of Emergency and Outpatient, National Institute of Child Health (NICH), Karachi, Pakistan. Period: March 2024 to August 2024. Methods: A total of 193 children aged 5–16 years of either gender with obesity (BMI-for-age ≥95th percentile by WHO standards) were enrolled using non-probability consecutive sampling. Sociodemographic and clinical data were recorded. Fasting blood samples were analyzed for TSH, T3, and T4. Thyroid dysfunction was classified using standard TSH and FT3 and FT4 thresholds. Data were analyzed with SPSS using t-tests and Chi-square, considering p<0.05 significant. Results: Of the 193 obese children, the mean age was 11.1 ± 2.8 years, and 105 (54.4%) were boys. There were 135 (69.9%) children who were resided in urban areas, while 124 (64.2%) children had class 1 obesity, and 69 (35.8%) had severe obesity. The mean BMI z-score was 2.56±0.46. Thyroid dysfunction was detected in 35 children (18.1%). Severe obesity was significantly more common among those with thyroid dysfunction (45.7% vs 33.5%, p=0.011). Conclusion: Thyroid dysfunction was frequently observed in obese children, with the highest risk among those with severe obesity.