Osteoporosis is a major health problem, especially in elderly populations, and is associated with fragility fractures at the hip, spine, and wrist. Hip fracture contributes to both morbidity and mortality in the elderly. The demographics of world populations are set to change, with more elderly living in developing countries, and it has been estimated that by 2050 half of hip fractures will occur in Asia. This review conducted using the PubMed database describes the incidence of hip fracture in different regions of the world and discusses the possible causes of this wide geographic variation. The analysis of data from different studies show a wide geographic variation across the world, with higher hip fracture incidence reported from industrialized countries as compared to developing countries. The highest hip fracture rates are seen in North Europe and the US and lowest in Latin America and Africa. Asian countries such as Kuwait, Iran, China, and Hong Kong show intermediate hip fracture rates. There is also a north–south gradient seen in European studies, and more fractures are seen in the north of the US than in the south. The factors responsible of this variation are population demographics (with more elderly living in countries with higher incidence rates) and the influence of ethnicity, latitude, and environmental factors. The understanding of this changing geographic variation will help policy makers to develop strategies to reduce the burden of hip fractures in developing countries such as India, which will face the brunt of this problem over the coming decades.

Background:Thyroid dysfunction is a common occurrence in pregnancy and affects both maternal and fetal outcomes. There are limited data on prevalence of hypothyroidism during pregnancy from India. Therefore, this study was designed to evaluate the prevalence of thyroid dysfunction especially hypothyroidism during first trimester in a large public hospital in North India.Materials and Methods:All the consecutive first trimester pregnant women attending Lok Nayak and Kasturba Hospitals were enrolled in the study after institutional ethics approval and consent from the study subjects. The pregnant women with diagnosed thyroid disease and on thyroid medications were excluded from the study. Morning samples of study participants were analyzed for thyroid hormone profile which included free T3, free T4, TSH, and TPO Ab. In addition, all study participants were tested for CBC, LFT, KFT, and lipid profile.Results:A total of 1000 women were enrolled for this prospective observational study. The mean (SD) age of study subjects was 25.6 (11.1) years, and mean (SD) gestational age was 10.3 (3.4) weeks. One hundred and forty-three (14.3%) subjects had TSH values more than 4.5 mIU/L above the cutoff used for definition of hypothyroidism. Out of these, 135 had normal free T4 and therefore labeled as subclinical hypothyroidism and 7 had low free T4 suggestive of overt hypothyroidism. TPO Ab was positive in 68 (6.82%) of total, 25 (18.5%) of subclinical and 5 (71%) of overt hypothyroid patients.Conclusion:Hypothyroidism, especially subclinical, is common in North Indian women during first trimester. Further countrywide studies are needed to evaluate the prevalence and etiology of hypothyroidism to prevent maternal and fetal adverse effects of hypothyroidism in India.

Background:A previous hospital based study from Delhi revealed a high prevalence of hypothyroidism in pregnant women. Several other studies with small sample size also indicate a rising trend of prevalence of hypothyroidism during pregnancy in India.Objective:To assess prevalence of hypothyroidism in pregnant women from various states/cities across India.Materials and Methods:This was a cross-sectional multicenter study conducted at Allahabad (Uttar Pradesh), Bengaluru (Karnataka), Chennai (Tamil Nadu), Kolkata (West Bengal), Hyderabad (Telangana), Nasik (Maharashtra), Rohtak (Haryana), Pune (Maharashtra), New Delhi (Delhi), Srinagar (Kashmir), and Vizag (Andhra Pradesh) enrolling 2599 pregnant women. Estimation of thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH), free T4, and antithyroid peroxidase (TPO) antibodies was carried out using Roche modular kit using ECLIA technology in a central laboratory.Results:We found in our study population that 13.13% of pregnant women have hypothyroidism (n = 388), using a cutoff TSH level of 4.5 μIU/ml. This prevalence was much higher using the American Thyroid Association criteria. Anti-TPO antibodies were positive in 20.74% of all pregnant women (n = 613), whereas 40% (n = 155) of hypothyroid pregnant women were positive for anti-TPO antibodies.Conclusion:This study concludes that there is a high prevalence of hypothyroidism (13.13%), majority being subclinical in pregnant women during the first trimester from India and universal screening of hypothyroidism may be desirable in our country.