ROUTINE TESTS MAY AID CARE OF THYROID DISORDER.

Byline: Medical Tribune News Service

Routine thyroid screening of adults ages 35 and older may be a cost-effective way to detect thyroid disorders early and help reduce related complications, a new study shows.

Using a computer model, Johns Hopkins researchers found that universal screening for an underactive thyroid - a procedure which currently is not routine - is cost-effective when compared with the costs of medical care for people whose thyroid problems progress because they are not identified early.

The cost-effectiveness of the blood test, known as a TSH assay, compared favorably to other preventive measures - such as screening tests for high blood pressure and breast cancer - routinely performed by doctors, according to study co-author Dr. Neil R. Powe, an associate professor of medicine, epidemiology and health policy and management at the Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions in Baltimore.

The thyroid test was the most beneficial for elderly women, because they are more likely than other groups to develop thyroid disorders, the researchers reported recently in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

Often, people don't know when they have mild thyroid failure, Powe said.

The thyroid gland is located at the front of the neck. Some of the symptoms of mild thyroid failure include fatigue, depression, difficulty in being attentive, irregular menstrual periods, cold intolerance, hair loss and weight gain, according to Powe.

A badly functioning thyroid also can raise cholesterol levels and thus have a deleterious effect on a person's risk of heart disease, he said.