Fida Hussain Channa, Safdar Ali Ujjan, Khadim Hussain Memon, Abdul Majid Ansari, Sanaullah Abbasi, Sham Lal.
Comparative study of Thyroid hormones and thyroid stimulating hormone level in growing children of rural and urban areas of district Dadu, Sindh, Pakistan.
Rawal Med J Jan ;46(2):372-7.

Objective: To measure thyroid hormones T3, T4 and TSH in growing children of rural and urban areas of District Dadu, Sindh, Pakistan. Methodology: This retrospective observational study of rural and urban children with 6, 9 and 12 years age and suspected to have abnormality in thyroid hormones was carried out. A total of 72 blood samples of children (male 36 and female 36) were collected, and hormonal levels were measured using Enzyme Linked Immunosorbent assay and compared with standard values. Results: In rural boys of all ages were T3, T4 and TSH were higher in 44%, 17%, 33%, respectively. In rural females, levels of T3, T4 and TSH were high in 28%, 39% and 44%, respectively. Normal hormonal range was found in urban boys. In contrast, urban females showed elevated hormonal level with T3, T4 and TSH in 17%, 05% and 17%, respectively. The significant difference (p<=0.05) in hormonal levels was found between rural and urban status, whereas, no gender difference was observed (p>0.05). Age showed significant association (p<=0.05) with T4 and TSH, while T3 showed no significant association (p>0.05). Conclusion: The abnormal hormonal level among children found in this study suggests the regular testing of suspected children.

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