Abstract
Objective: to compare the results of US thyroid screening findings between the male and female cohort of asymptomatic Saudi Arabian university students.
Methods: One hundred and fifty six university students were enrolled in a quantitative descriptive study from November 2024 to January 2025. They were selected through a simple sampling. An Esaote MyLab40 US machine with a 7 MHz probe was used. The thyroid was bilaterally evaluated with the US for length, echotexture, and abnormalities. The Independent T-test, Pearson's correlations, cross-tabulation, and descriptive statistics were applied for the data analysis.
Results: the mean age of the participants was 21.3±1.3 years, and the mean BMI was 23.7 ±6.3. The right thyroid lobe's mean length and anteroposterior (AP) diameter were 3.8 ± 0.48 cm and 1.2 ± 0.26 cm, respectively. The left lobe mean length and AP diameter were 3.5 ±0.49 cm and 1.1± 0.30 cm, respectively. 84.6% of the participants had normal findings; the positive findings were 15.4 % (n = 24): cystic nodules found in 10.3%, predominantly solid, thyroiditis, and dilated cervical lymph nodes were noted in a similar percentage (1.3%). The positive findings were more frequent in the female students (87.5% (out of 24)). The statistical analysis indicated a significant association between the US findings and the BMI p =0.04. The mean length of the Rt. and Lt. male thyroid lobes was greater than the females, t = 5.204 and 5.354, respectively, and p < 0.05. Conclusion: The study concluded that the thyroid US incidental findings were significant, more frequent in females, and associated significantly with the BMI. The male's mean thyroid length was greater than that of the females.