Goiter prevalence in the Philippines is
still high compared to other Asian countries, with the
greatest frequency among pregnant women between 13 to 20 years
old.
This was revealed by officials of the
Philippine Society of Endocrinology and Metabolism during a
press conference dubbed PSEM and the Public: Working Together
to Fight Goiter held recently at The Heritage Hotel in Pasay
City.
Goiter or the enlargement of the thyroid
gland just below the Adam’s apple – is also prevalent in five
percent of the schoolchildren. The disease is most commonly
caused by iodine deficiency.
PSEM director and committee on advocacy
chair Dr. Gabriel Jasul, Jr. also provided an overview of the
diseases of the thyroid gland which include goiter,
hypothyroidism and hyperthyroidism. PSEM president Dr. Rosa
Allyn Sy, on the other hand, stressed the role of
endocrinology in the management and treatment of these thyroid
disorders.
PSEM vice-president Dr. Josephine Carlos-Raboca and
director Dr. Leilani B. Mercado-Asis, also presented their
advocacy campaigns on the awareness, prevention and treatment
of goiter. As mandated by Proclamation No. 1188 recently
signed by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, Goiter Awareness
Week will be commemorated every fourth week of January.
