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Background: Data on thyroid disease epidemiology in the Middle East are scanty and anecdotal. This study aimed to assess the pattern of thyroid disease seen in Faiha Specialized Diabetes, Endocrine and Metabolism Center (FDEMC) in Basrah,Southern Iraq. Methods Retrospective observational study of database retrieval from the FDEMC a tertiary care Center in Basrah for the period of September 2008 to January 2019. Included all adults non pregnant 18 years or older. Results Total enrolled patients 17878; of them 4174(23.3%) men and 13705(76.7 %) women. There were 2229(12.5%) patients with hypothyroidism (83.0% women), with subclinical hypothyroidism observed in 364 out of 2229 with hypothyroidism(16.3%). We found 1087 (6.1%) patients with hyperthyroidism (67.7% women) and subclinical hyperthyroidism observed in 92 of 1087 hyperthyroidism (8.4%). Thyroid nodularity was seen in 944 (5.2%) patients (807 women in 85.5%). Thyroidectomy was done in 776(4.3%). Differentiated thyroid cancer was seen in 77 (0.4%). Conclusion: Hypothyroidism was double that of hyperthyroidism. Cross-sectional community-based study can give more information on the epidemiology of thyroid disease in Iraq.Iodine status needed studded in the future. Keywords: Hyperthyroidism, hypothyroidism,autoimmune thyroid disease, Iraq.

Background: Pituitary disorders spectrum includes a wide variety of diseases.This study aimed at a comprehensive description of such disorders for patients from  Faiha Specialized Diabetes, Endocrine and Metabolism Center (FDEMC) in Basrah (Southern Iraq). Methods: Retrospective data analysis of FDEMC for the period from January 2012 through June 2017. We included all patients with pituitary disorders who have MRI pituitary. Results: The pituitary disorders were more common among women. Those with macroadenoma were older than those with microadenoma with nearly equal gender prevalence of macroadenoma. Pituitary adenoma constituted the bulk of pituitary disorders in this registry (67.2%). Growth hormone secreting adenoma were the commonest adenoma seen in 41.0% followed by clinically non-functioning pituitary adenoma(NFPA)in 31.4% and prolactinoma in 26.9%. About 64.8% of pituitary adenoma was macroadenoma. Macroadenoma was seen in 73.4 % of growth hormone secreting adenoma, 61.2% in NFPA and 62.0% of prolactinoma (of them six were giant prolactinoma) Conclusion: Pituitary adenoma constituted the bulk of pituitary disorders in Basrah, growth hormone secreting adenoma is the commonest adenoma followed by NFPA and prolactinoma due to referral bias. A change  in  practice of pituitary adenoma treatment is needed.

Background: Fasting the month of Ramadan should be achieved by every pubescent Muslim unless they have an excuse. Fasting involves complete abstinence of oral intake throughout daytime. Patients who have hypothyroidism usually require levothyroxine (L-thyroxine) replacement, which is typically given on an empty stomach away from meals. Taking L-thyroxine replacement without feeding is challenging during the nighttime of Ramadan, in addition to being prohibited during daytime.Objectives: This study aimed to determine the best time of L-thyroxine intake during Ramadan. Methods: Fifty patients who were taking L-thyroxine treatment for primary hypothyroidism were involved in this prospective study for three months including the fasting and pre-fasting months. The patients were divided into three groups with different times of L-thyroxine intake. In the group one (pre-iftar), the patients were asked to take L-thyroxine at the time of iftar (the sunset meal) but to delay any oral intake for at least 30 minutes. In the group two (post-iftar), the patients were asked to take L-thyroxine two hours after iftar. The patients in the last group (pre-suhoor) were asked not to eat in the last two hours before suhoor (the predawn meal) and to take L-thyroxine tablet one hour prior to suhoor.Results: When thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) levels were compared before and after Ramadan, there were no significant differences neither within each group nor among all the study groups. Moreover, the frequencies of the TSH control after Ramadan showed no significant differences within each of the study groups (P = 0.18, 0.75, 1.0 for pre-suhoor, pre-iftar, and post-iftar respectively). Similarly, comparison among the groups of the study showed no significant differences regardless of whether the patients had controlled or uncontrolled TSH prior to Ramadan (P = 0.75 and 0.67, respectively). In the patients with controlled TSH before Ramadan, 8 out of 10 (pre-suhoor), 8 out of 12 (pre-iftar), and 4 out of 6 (post-iftar) maintained their control after Ramadan. While in the patients with uncontrolled TSH before Ramadan, 7 out of 10 (pre-suhoor), 6 out of 8 (pre-iftar), and 2 out of 4 (post-iftar) achieved controlled TSH after Ramadan.Conclusions: No significant differences in TSH control were observed in patients taking L-thyroxine at pre-iftar, post-iftar, or presuhoor time in Ramadan.

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