Goiter frequency in adults living in city of düzce

Purpose: To determine goiter frequency in adults in city of düzce which has iodine deficiencyİntroduction: Goiter rates in adults living in düzce which has moderate iodine deficiency not knownMethod: We included patients and their relatives who were older than 18 years old and have been living for last 10 years in düzce,coming for check-up to düzce ünivercity medicine faculty internal medicine deparment as out patients between january 2007 and march 2008.Patients hadn?t got any drug using history or sistemic illness which may effect thryoid function.Patient?s thryoid examination were made with manual palpation and ultrasonography.Level of TSH was measured by using ECLİA method.Findings: 311 patients were included in our study, whose mean age was 45,97 ± 15,45 (between 18-83). 68.17 % of the patients was female and 31.83 % was male. 30.23% and 42.77% had find to have goiter by palpation and ultrasonography respectively. Palpation and ultrasonography were found to have statistically similar results (kapa: 0,557). İn older age groups, the prevelance of goiter was higher. There was no difference in goiter prevelance between males and females. 11.25% and 11.58% of patients were found to have hypothyroidism and hyperthyroidism respectively. Hyperthyroidism was more frequent in older age groups.Results: We have found that endemic goiter is present in adults living in Düzce. The most common cause of endemic goiter is iodite deficiency which can be prevented by replacement therapy and its effective treatment is more important in endemic regions.Key Words: Goiter, Düzce, iodine deficiency