Thyroid Disease: Understanding hypothyroidism and hyperthyroidism

• Description
• Table of Contents
• An excerpt from this report

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As we age, thyroid disease becomes more likely. But it isn’t easier to spot. Thyroid disease causes a variety of puzzling hyperthyroidism or hypothyroidism symptoms and many people and doctors mistake them for signs of another disease or normal aging. More than 12 million Americans have thyroid disease, many of whom don’t realize it. The Special Health Report, Thyroid Disease, explains in easy-to-understand language how to know if your thyroid gland is not functioning as it should and what treatment to follow if your levels are too high (hyperthyroidism) or too low (hypothyroidism).

Prepared by the editors of Harvard Health Publications in consultation with Jeffery R. Garber, M.D., Assistant Clinical Professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School; Chief of Endocrinology, Harvard Vanguard Medical Associates; Physician, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center; Associate Physician, Brigham and Women’s Hospital. 48 pages. (updated: 2007)

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Here's an Excerpt from this Thyroid Disease Health Report

Unseen and often misunderstood, the thyroid gland is small but enormously important to human health. Like the director of a feature film, the thyroid works behind the scenes influencing everything from metabolism to emotion. Most people do not realize how important thyroid health is to overall well-being, until something goes wrong. Then a faulty performance has an impact on your most vital organs including your heart and brain as well as your mood, strength, energy level, and more.

Normally, the thyroid works day and night producing hormones that control the pace at which each of your cells performs its functions. So when disease causes this busy gland to slack off and underproduce thyroid hormone, or overwork and produce too much of it, you’ll know something isn’t right. But it may take some time to figure out what. The symptoms of thyroid diseases are so wide-ranging even doctors often don’t realize that the thyroid is to blame. Hypothyroidism, an underactive thyroid, leads to symptoms as diverse as depression, hair loss, weight gain, dry skin, and feeling cold and continually tired. Hyperthyroidism, an overactive thyroid, can make you lose weight and feel nervous, anxious, warm, and constantly hungry.

The risk of thyroid disease increases with age. Yet, complicating matters, thyroid disease is most difficult to detect in people over 60 because it typically masquerades as another illness, such as heart disease, depression, or dementia. Misleading symptoms may be the reason that many Americans who have thyroid disease—mostly women—do not yet know they have it.

How many people have thyroid disease? Estimates vary widely, in part because experts disagree about how to define a normal result on a blood test used to detect thyroid conditions. The most reliable number available comes from the third U.S. National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey of people ages 12 and older. The survey reported that nearly 6% of the U.S. population, or 12.2 million people, have thyroid disease. Most of these people, about 9.6 million, have hypothyroidism. A much smaller portion, 2.6 million people, have hyperthyroidism. But the population is aging, and the proportion of people with thyroid conditions is increasing.

This report will arm you with information on how to recognize the symptoms and risk factors for thyroid disease and when to ask your doctor for a thyroid evaluation. While many doctors do check thyroid functions periodically, routine screening for the general population is not universal. Therefore, it is often up to you to ask your doctor to evaluate your thyroid if you suspect you have a problem.

If you have been diagnosed with thyroid disease, use this report as a guide to your condition. It explains some misconceptions, offers the latest information on treatments, and provides insights about controversial topics, such as whether mild thyroid disease ought to be treated and whether alternative therapies are right for you.

Thyroid diseases are treatable, but therapy typically involves a lifetime commitment. If you follow a few simple guidelines, such as taking your medication and having your condition monitored at appropriate intervals, you can live an active, normal life.

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