What disorders are associated with the thyroid?
The disorders associated with the thyroid tend to be either under or over activity.
Underactivity
An underactive thyroid gland is also known as hypothyroidism or myxodoema, it is most common in women between the ages of thirty and sixty. Symptoms include tiredness and putting on a great deal of weight due to a slow metabolism. Causes of hypothyroidism include a lack of iodine in the diet or it can be a side effect of treatment of other disorders with certain drugs such as lithium.
Overactivity
Overactivity of the thyroid is known as
hyperthyroidism it is also more common in women than in men and usually
occurs
in people between twenty and sixty. Hyperthyroidism can make people tired,
nervous and irritable and can cause sufferers to have an enlarged thyroid.
Patients with disorder will find that despite a large appetite they will lose a
lot of weight. A major cause of hyperthyroidism is Graves' disease where
antibodies can stimulate the thyroid, Other causes include an excess of iodine,
production of T3 rather than T4, pituitary disorders and
cancer of the thyroid.