Take care of your Thyroid

There has been a significant increase in thyroid-related disorders in the recent years. Thanks to the increased awareness of thyroid disorders and easy availability of tests, more cases are coming to light now.

In India, an estimated four crore people suffer from thyroid-related disorders. Women are six to eight times more likely to be diagnosed with this condition.

These disorders tend to run in families and could be “transmitted” from mother to daughter.

The thyroid gland is a butterfly shaped gland positioned in the front part of the neck, just below the Adam’s apple and above the collarbone. It is not visible to the naked eye under normal circumstances but may appear prominent in thin people. The function of thyroid gland is to produce thyroid hormones (T4, T3) which regulate metabolism in every organ, tissue and cell in the body.

Patients could show symptoms like decreased function of the thyroid (hypothyroidism), increased function (hyperthyroidism) or a diffuse/nodular swelling in the neck, but with normal hormonal values on blood tests.

Hypothyroidism causes unusual or unexplained tiredness, fatigue, depression, hair loss, weight gain, swelling, snoring, cramping, loss of appetite, constipation, dry skin, heavy or irregular menses in women and erectile dysfunction or loss of libido in males.

Hyperthyroid (overactive thyroid) patients suffer from unexplained weight loss, increased appetite, increased sweating, change in behaviour, irritability, nervousness, tremors, palpitation, increased frequency of stools, bulging of eyes, scanty periods etc.

Hyperthyroid patients have three treatment options — medical, surgical or use of radioactive iodine. The latter two are effective in treating hyperthyroidism but result in hypothyroidism in majority of cases.

Goitre describes a thyroid swelling. There may be a diffuse enlargement of the gland or the gland may have single or multiple lumps (nodules). Often, a goitre occurs in patients who have no defect in thyroid function and hormonal levels are normal on report.

In the last few years there has been an increase in cases of Subacute thyroiditis — an inflammation of the thyroid gland which causes a pain in throat that radiates to the ears, unexplained fever and weight loss. The hormone levels increase transiently too. Diagnosis can be confirmed by doing a thyroid scan.

Once treated, thyroid patients live normal lives. However, if they are not monitored, patients suffer from health problems such as high cholesterol, heart disease, osteoporosis, infertility and depression.

The writer is a consultant endocrinologist at Hinduja Hospital, Mumbai.