Experts: 9% of adult Filipinos have goiter

About nine percent of Filipino adults are diagnosed with goiter, an irregular growth of the thyroid gland.

Goiter, as explained by Dr. Nenuel Luna, an internal medicine-endocrinology, diabetes, and metabolism expert, is an enlargement of the thyroid gland.

"Hindi porket may goiter, ikaw ay hyperthyroid na. Hindi porket ikaw ay may goiter, ikaw ay hypothyroid na. Maraming pong uri, marami pong sanhi ng goiter (Just because you have goiter, it means you have hyperthyroid. Just because you have goiter, it means you have hypothyroid. There are a lot of kinds of goiter)," Luna said in a Kapihan forum hosted by the Department of Health.

Of the 4,897 persons who had undergone thyroid function tests, 417 or 8.53 percent had thyroid function abnormalities with the most common abnormality being subclinical or "mild" hyperthyroidism (5.33 percent).

Meanwhile, in a survey involving 7,227 patients, 8.9 percent were found to have goiter.

"So talagang very important yung awareness natin kasi baka hindi lang natin namamalayan, akala natin taba lang, malaki lang yung leeg natin, yun pala may goiter na (Our our awareness when it comes to goiter is really very important because maybe we may not realize it at first, we think it's just fat, our neck is just big, then it would turn out we have a goiter)," Luna continued.

"So very important ang goiter awareness (So goiter awareness is very important)," he underscored.

He also explained that the main functions of thyroid hormones are weight, energy levels, internal temperature, metabolism, as well as skin, hair, and nail growth.

Causes of goiter

Among the causes of goiter, Luna explained, are iodine deficiency, autoimmune, nodules, or swelling.

Luna said iodine deficiency is one of the most common causes of goiter worldwide, noting that the thyroid gland is responsible for concentrating iodine to make thyroid hormone.

"Kapag may iodine deficiency, maaaring maging hypothyroid ang isang patient at lumaki ang thyroid (When there's iodine deficiency, a patient can become hypothyroid and the thyroid becomes enlarged)," he added.

"Marami pa rin po sa Pilipinas ang mababa ang iodine level (There are a lot of Filipinos with low iodine level)," he furthered.

Also among the symptoms of goiter is difficulty in swallowing or breathing, however, some patients may not feel anything.

"Mapapansin lang po, minsan hindi pa nga yung pasyente ang makakapansin, minsan ang mas makakapansin pa yung mga katrabaho, kamag-anak na lumalaki yung leeg o sumisikip yung damit sa bandang leeg (Sometimes it's not even the patient who notices, sometimes it's their co-workers or relatives who notice that their neck is getting large or their clothes are getting tight around the neck)," he added.

Luna said there are currently 15 provinces in the Philippines with the lowest iodine level, namely Mountain Province, Benguet, Pangasinan, Palawan, Western Samar, Biliran, Capiz, Antique, Cebu, Zamboanga del Norte, Zamboanga del Sur, Basilan, Bukidnon, Davao Occidental, and South Cotabato.

He encouraged the public to take iodine as it is "needed to make the thyroid hormones."

"Ang iodine po ay (Iodine is) very important sa production ng thyroid. Ang (The) iodine po ay (is) essential."

The recommended dietary allowance of iodine for adult men or women is 150 micrograms (mcg) per day, 220 mcg per day for pregnant women, and 290 mcg per day for lactating women.

Common food sources of iodine include bread, seaweed, oysters, milk, iodized table salt, egg, pasta, and tuna.