Assessment of Public Knowledge regarding the Differences between Hyperthyroidism and Hypothyroidism

Abstract

Background: Thyroid hormones play a pivotal role in the metabolism of human body. Changes of the thyroid gland activity manifest in nearly all body systems. Appropriate knowledge of the public about thyroid disorders and their manifestations is essential for early detection. Objective: The aim of this study was to assess public knowledge regarding the differences between hyperthyroidism and hypothyroidism in Tabuk city, Saudi Arabia. Methods: A cross sectional study was conducted on 300 randomly selected adult residents in Tabuk city. An Arabic self-administered questionnaire was filled by the participants through a link or softcopy. The questionnaire included questions about socio-demographic data of the respondents and other questions to assess knowledge about the type and functions of thyroid gland, its disorders, factors affecting thyroid disorders, and their common manifestations. Results: Respondents with good knowledge of thyroid gland and its disorders constituted 52%, while 45% had poor knowledge. Good knowledge was demonstrated in questions about the type of thyroid gland (71.4%), and the most susceptible individuals to have the disorder (90.4%). Manifestations of hypothyroidism were also recognized by most respondents, particularly weight gain (76%) as well as fatigability and sleepiness (74.9%). Inadequate and poor knowledge was found as regards the functions of thyroid gland, causes of thyroid hormonal disturbances, and symptoms of hyperthyroidism. Conclusion: The knowledge of respondents about thyroid disorders is poor. Inadequate knowledge can result in increased number of undetected cases. Health education should be launched by the health authorities and distributed through all available channels of information. Good knowledge of the general population about thyroid disorders is expected to decrease the incidence of preventable disorders and increase the detection of subtle undiagnosed cases.

A cross-sectional study among Saudi population's: Knowledge and awareness of thyroid disease

“…According to a survey in Tabuk-City, 52 percent of respondents had strong knowledge, while 45% had inadequate knowledge, similar to the findings of a study in Riyadh about the thyroid-gland and its disorders (Alhawiti et al, 2018). In Malaysia, paper among 288 women in Selangor; found nearly half (51.7%) women have-good-knowledge regarding thyroid disorder and 48.3% of women have poor knowledge (Mohamed et al, 2020).…”

“…However, manifestations of hypothyroidism were recognized by a lower percentage of respondents (Almuzaini et al, 2019). In Tabuk city, Alhawiti et al, (2018) found that the knowledge of the respondent's regards symptoms of hyperthyroidism was poor as only half the respondents roughly identified the common manifestations of the disease. The intolerance to hot weather and menstrual disturbances with hyperthyroidism were the least identified (50.7% and 44.3%).…”

“…Symptoms of hypothyroidism were distinguished by a higher percentage of respondents, especially weight gain (76% of respondents), fatigability and sleepiness (74.9%) and dryness of skin and hair (64.2%) (Alhawiti et al, 2018). In Malaysia, Mohamed et al, (2020) found that 60.1% of cases have answered "YES" for insomnia and lack of sleep as symptoms of hyperthyroidism, 20.5%…”

Assessment of Knowledge and Attitude Regarding Thyroid Disorders among Population in Taif City, Saudi Arabia

“…According to a study conducted in Tabuk city, the knowledge percent was close to our results which were 52% of respondents having good knowledge, while 45% have poor knowledge about the thyroid gland and its disorders. Good knowledge was demonstrated in questions on the type of thyroid gland (endocrine; by 71.4% of respondents), and the most susceptible individuals to have disorders were women; by 90.4% of respondents [13]. Another Saudi study in Hail reported that, only 6.6% among the participants did not know what the thyroid gland is, while 93.4% have chosen specific answers that are facts regarding the thyroid on different levels of knowledge [14].…”

Population awareness and knowledge of thyroid diseases signs, symptoms and risk factors in Taif Saudi Arabia

“…Taif city, it's a city of Saudi Arabia and considered high altitude area because it is the elevation is 2,000 meters above sea level. In high altitude areas, the hypoxia changes the level of thyroid hormones T3 & T4 (Alhawiti et al, 2018). Thus according to this research, high altitude places create hypoxia, which must be compensated for by mild hyperthyroidism (Barnholt et al, 2006).…”