[Thyroid gland alterations in Perm region residents as observed by means of ultrasonography].
Thyroid gland (TG) ultrosonography, performed in 2000 residents of Perm region (370 men and 1630 women aged 18 to 84 years), showed that only 1/3 of the subjects had no TG abnormalities. Despite mass iodine prophylaxis, resumed in Perm more than 6 years ago, and group iodide prophylaxis that is being actively introduced at present, the prevalence of goitre has not decreased. On the contrary, it has risen from 26.3% to 42.3% in Perm region since 90-s. Nodules were found in one out of five subjects. TG diseases were significantly more frequent in women than in men. The majority of the subjects had no complaints, and any abnormality, including TG cancer (6 cases), was found by chance. The reduction of TG size with age is not typical of Perm population, and the increase of TG volume in the elderly (both men and women) is due to TG nodules formation. Thus, preventive ultrasonography should be introduced widely in order to reveal TG abnormalities at early stages, not only among the population of iodized regions, but also in ecologically unfavourable ones. This diagnostic test must become a necessary procedure in preventive examinations of people exposed to occupational hazards.