Appraisal of the thyroid function tests: the Ludhiana experience.

In a series of 4,366 patients screened at Ludhiana, Punjab, the incidence of hypothyroidism was of the order of about 20 per cent and of hyperthyroidism about 15 per cent in both sexes. The female-to-male ratio was a little over 3:1. These statistics conform broadly to conventional Western figures. The relevance of the thyroid function tests in detecting subclinical thyroid disorders in relation to other systems cannot be overemphasised.