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Press Release for World Thyroid Day, May 25th, and International Thyroid Awareness Week, May 25th to 31st, 2019

A note from Ashok Bhaseen, President of Thyroid Federation International

“There are still many people living with some kind of thyroid disorder without diagnosis. The International Thyroid Awareness Week is now in its 11th year, and I promise, we at Thyroid Federation International and its member countries won’t rest until testing and diagnosis rates improve globally. This year we’re helping people to recognize the many faces of thyroid disorders so they can visit a healthcare professional and get tested as soon as possible.“

Look for patient programs on education and awareness in your country or visit the Thyroid Federation website in your country.

How to get involved in this year’s campaign

If you’re on social media, keep up with the campaign via our channels on Twitter and Facebook, and play your part in the global movement by using the hashtag #ITAW19. This will help us raise awareness of thyroid disorders, which affect more than 200 million people worldwide as per ATA (American Thyroid Association).

Visit us on www.thyroidweek.org and www.thyroid-fed.org

Why are we doing this?

ITAW, now in its 11th year, was created to highlight the detrimental impact that thyroid disorders have on people’s quality of life when left undiagnosed. Around 1.6 billion people worldwide are thought to be at risk, with hundreds of millions living with a thyroid condition right now.[i] Up to 60% of those living with a thyroid disorder are undiagnosed, and people may be needlessly struggling through their everyday lives without knowing the root cause of their symptoms.[ii]

However, once diagnosed, thyroid disorders are treatable, and the ITAW campaign is pushing hard to improve testing and diagnoses globally.

i Khan A, Khan MM, Akhtar S. Thyroid disorders, etiology and prevalence. J Med Sci 2002; 2: 89–94. Available at: http://www.scialert.net/fulltext/?doi=jms.2002.89.94&org=11 Last accessed February 2019.

ii American Thyroid Association. General Information/Press Room. Available at: https://www.thyroid.org/media-main/press-room/  Last accessed February 2019.

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The 16th International Thyroid Congress, 8-13 Sep 2020, Xian, China

The 16th International Thyroid Congress will be held in Xi’an, China, on September 8-13, 2020 with the Chinese Society of Endocrinology composing the Local Organizing Committee.  This was officially announced at the Closing Session of the 15th ITC held at the Walt Disney World Swan & Dolphin Resort in Orlando, Florida, USA.  An audio-visual presentation for the 16th ITC was shown followed by the invitation speech by Weiping Teng, AOTA Vice President and Chair of the LOC.

This will be the third time that AOTA will host the ITC following a system of rotation among the 4 Sister Societies in Thyroidology.  Sydney (Australia) hosted the 8th ITC in 1980 and Kyoto (Japan) the 12th ITC in 2000.

Xi’an is the capital of Shanxi Province, China, and the cultural and educational center of west China. It is a popular center for international conferences and exhibitions.  Once the political, economic and cultural center of China, Xi’an has been the first Chinese city open up to the outside world and the starting point of the well-known Silk Road.  The video presentation featured places of interest of the old and the new faces of the ITC host city.

www.itc2020.org