{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,29]],"date-time":"2026-09-29T06:15:05Z","timestamp":1790662505999,"version":"4.1.0"},"reference-count":23,"publisher":"Frontiers Media SA","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,31]],"date-time":"2026-03-31T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1774915200000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["frontiersin.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Front. Public Health"],"abstract":"<jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Background<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Thyroid disorders are common and often under-recognized. Evidence on public thyroid health literacy in Palestine is limited. This study assessed public knowledge of thyroid disorders among adults in the West Bank, Palestine.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Methods<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>A cross-sectional online survey was conducted from May 1 to August 1, 2025, among adults (\u226518\u202fyears) residing in the West Bank. Participants with current or prior health-professional training or employment in healthcare were excluded. Non-probability convenience sampling was used through social media distribution (Facebook, WhatsApp, Telegram). Knowledge was assessed using a 17-item multiple-choice instrument covering risk factors (7 items), clinical manifestations (7 items), and preventive behaviors (3 items). Correct responses were scored as 1 and incorrect\/\u201cI don\u2019t know\u201d as 0; knowledge levels were categorized as low (&amp;lt;50%), moderate (50\u201375%), and high (&amp;gt;75%). Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, chi-square tests, and ordinal logistic regression.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Results<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>A total of 1,119 participants were included (71.3% women, 75.0% university-educated). Mean knowledge score was 8.60\/17 (50.6%); 56.7% had low knowledge, 26.3% moderate, and 17.1% high. Risk-factor knowledge was lowest (mean 2.97\/7; 42.4%), while prevention-related knowledge was comparatively higher (mean 2.03\/3; 67.7%). Notable gaps were observed for medication-related risks (amiodarone 9.7%; lithium 11.0%) and pregnancy\/postpartum risk (41.7%). In adjusted analyses, higher knowledge was associated with age &amp;gt;50\u202fyears (aOR 1.71), while lower knowledge was associated with male sex (aOR 0.70) and no formal education versus university education (aOR 0.26).<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Conclusion<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Public knowledge of thyroid disorders in the West Bank was generally low, with the most pronounced deficits related to pregnancy and the postpartum period and to medication associated thyroid dysfunction. These findings support targeted, low cost health education integrated into routine primary care, maternal and reproductive health services, and community pharmacy counseling, with future studies needed to evaluate effects on timely care seeking and safer medication practices.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.3389\/fpubh.2026.1798507","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,31]],"date-time":"2026-03-31T05:34:00Z","timestamp":1774935240000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":1,"title":["Public knowledge of thyroid disorders in the West Bank, Palestine: pregnancy and medication-related safety gaps in a cross-sectional study"],"prefix":"10.3389","volume":"14","author":[{"given":"Amani B.","family":"Ahmed","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of General Surgery, Al-Makassed Islamic Charitable Hospital","place":["East Jerusalem, Palestine"]},{"name":"Faculty of Medicine, Al-Quds University","place":["Jerusalem, Palestine"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Amal","family":"Obeid","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of General Surgery, Al-Makassed Islamic Charitable Hospital","place":["East Jerusalem, Palestine"]},{"name":"Faculty of Medicine, Al-Quds University","place":["Jerusalem, Palestine"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Abdullah","family":"Abukeshek","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Medicine, Al-Quds University","place":["Jerusalem, Palestine"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Mohammad Hakam","family":"Shehadeh","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Medicine, Al-Quds University","place":["Jerusalem, Palestine"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Mohammed M.","family":"Salahaldin","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Medicine, Al-Quds University","place":["Jerusalem, Palestine"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Hamza","family":"Karmi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Medicine, Al-Quds University","place":["Jerusalem, Palestine"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Haitham","family":"Suwan","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Medicine, Al-Quds University","place":["Jerusalem, Palestine"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Ahmed","family":"Salama","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Medicine, Al-Quds University","place":["Jerusalem, Palestine"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Sohaib","family":"Dwaik","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Urology, Hebron Governmental Hospital","place":["Hebron, Palestine"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Hobab","family":"Odeh","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"General Medicine, Al-Istishari Arab Hospital","place":["Ramallah, Palestine"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Nuha","family":"Riyad","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, An-Najah National University","place":["Nablus, Palestine"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Osama","family":"Ewidat","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, An-Najah National University","place":["Nablus, Palestine"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Ameer B.","family":"Ahmed","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Medicine, Al-Quds University","place":["Jerusalem, Palestine"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Mohammed","family":"Maree","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of General Surgery, Al-Makassed Islamic Charitable Hospital","place":["East Jerusalem, Palestine"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1965","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,31]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"301","DOI":"10.1038\/nrendo.2018.18","article-title":"Global epidemiology of hyperthyroidism and hypothyroidism","volume":"14","author":"Taylor","year":"2018","journal-title":"Nat Rev Endocrinol"},{"key":"ref2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"93","DOI":"10.1093\/emph\/eoaa043","article-title":"Reinterpreting patterns of variation in human thyroid function: an evolutionary ecology perspective","volume":"9","author":"Keestra","year":"2021","journal-title":"Evol Med Public 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hypothyroidism","volume":"38","author":"Gottwald-Hostalek","year":"2022","journal-title":"Curr Med Res Opin"},{"key":"ref17","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"629","DOI":"10.1186\/s12982-025-00979-8","article-title":"Public self-reported familiarity with thyroid disorders in northern Cyprus","volume":"22","author":"Altunda\u011f","year":"2025","journal-title":"Discov Public Health"},{"key":"ref18","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"2001","DOI":"10.2147\/IJWH.S530418","article-title":"Knowledge, attitude and practice regarding thyroid disorders in pregnant women: a cross-sectional study in Guangdong, China","volume":"17","author":"Han","year":"2025","journal-title":"Int J Women's Health"},{"key":"ref19","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"e62113","DOI":"10.7759\/cureus.62113","article-title":"Awareness of thyroid diseases and their risk factors among the residents of Jeddah, Saudi 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