Hyderabad: A community screening drive in three Hyderabad slum clusters has revealed a worrying burden of undiagnosed thyroid disorders, with more than half of those tested found to have abnormalities. The findings have underscored the need for wider screening and early detection, particularly among women in underserved communities, where symptoms often go unnoticed.Helping Hands Foundation (HHF), in collaboration with Pune-based Thyright Innovations, conducted the free screening from July 1 to 3 at its community health centres in First Lancer, Rajendra Nagar and Shaheen Nagar. A total of 561 people underwent serum thyroid profile testing along with screening using a non-invasive thermal imaging-based thyroid technology.Laboratory tests identified thyroid disorders in nearly 300 participants (53.4%), including 292 cases of hypothyroidism and eight cases of hyperthyroidism.The thermal imaging device demonstrated 98% concordance with blood test-confirmed diagnoses, highlighting its potential as an effective first-line screening tool for community-level use.The women-centric initiative targeted underserved communities, where symptoms such as fatigue, unexplained weight changes, mood disturbances, hair loss, menstrual irregularities and difficulty concentrating are often overlooked or left undiagnosed.HHF said participants were also counselled on thyroid-related symptoms, risk factors, the importance of timely diagnosis, and the need for regular medical follow-up.Mujtaba Hasan Askari of HHF said the initiative enabled screening and guidance for people who may otherwise never have sought thyroid testing. Dr Rajeshwari of Thyright Innovations said the collaboration also supported the phase II clinical validation of the company’s portable thermal imaging technology under real-world field conditions.
