hypothyroidism

Also known as underactive thyroid, low thyroid, hypothyreosis, thyroid insufficiency

Hypothyroidism is an endocrine disease in which the thyroid gland does not produce enough thyroid hormones. It can cause a number of symptoms, such as poor ability to tolerate cold, extreme fatigue, muscle aches, constipation, slow heart rate, depression, and weight gain. Occasionally, there may be swelling of the front part of the neck due to goiter. Untreated cases of hypothyroidism during pregnancy can lead to delays in growth and intellectual development in the baby or congenital iodine deficiency syndrome.

AI overview

Hypothyroidism occurs when the thyroid gland fails to produce enough thyroid hormones, leading to symptoms like fatigue, cold intolerance, muscle aches, constipation, and weight gain. It matters because left untreated—especially during pregnancy—it can cause serious complications including goiter (neck swelling) and developmental delays in infants.

AI-generated from the Wikipedia summary — may contain errors.

Key facts

Medical condition.name: Hypothyroidism
Medical condition.image: Thyroxine-2D-skeletal.png
Medical condition.alt: Molecular structure of the thyroxine molecule
Medical condition.caption: Molecular structure of thyroxine, which is deficient in hypothyroidism
Medical condition.synonyms: Underactive thyroid, low thyroid, hypothyreosis
Medical condition.field: Endocrinology
Medical condition.symptoms: Fatigue (feeling tired), poor ability to tolerate cold, muscle aches, constipation, weight gain, depression, anxiety, irritability
Medical condition.complications: During pregnancy, can result in cretinism in the baby
Medical condition.onset: > 60 years old
Medical condition.causes: Hashimoto's thyroiditis, thyroiditis, surgical removal of thyroid gland, iodine deficiency, lithium treatment
Medical condition.diagnosis: Blood tests (thyroid-stimulating hormone, thyroxine)
Medical condition.differential: Depression, dementia, heart failure, chronic fatigue syndrome
Medical condition.prevention: Salt iodization
Medical condition.treatment: Levothyroxine
Medical condition.frequency: 0.3–0.4%

via Wikipedia infobox

Research

58,774 papers

Headache attributed to hypothyroidism.ReviewCurrent pain and headache reports · 2007Tepper DE, Tepper SJ, Sheftell FD et al.DOI: 10.1007/s11916-007-0208-2
Conditions associated with canine hypothyroidism.ReviewThe Veterinary clinics of North America. Small animal practice · 2001Panciera DL
Hoffmann's syndrome in subclinical hypothyroidism.The journal of the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh · 2024Hs K, Cheemalapati S, Cr VDOI: 10.1177/14782715231218033
[Autoimmune hypothyroidism].La Revue du praticien · 1998Wémeau JL, d'Herbomez-Boidein M
Is There a Relation between Hypothyroidism and Polycystic Ovary Syndrome and its Metabolic Components?Current diabetes reviews · 2023Bonakdaran S, Milani N, Khorasani ZM et al.DOI: 10.2174/1573399818666220426090324
Hypothyroidism-related zinc deficiency leads to suppression of T lymphocyte activity.Endocrine · 2019Paulazo MA, Klecha AJ, Sterle HA et al.DOI: 10.1007/s12020-019-01936-7
Effect of hypothyroidism on short-term outcomes after autologous and implant-based breast reconstruction.Updates in surgery · 2024Li R, Ranganath BDOI: 10.1007/s13304-024-01791-w
Hypothyroidism and the Risk of Venous Thromboembolism: A Nationwide Cohort Study.Thrombosis and haemostasis · 2020Wei WT, Liu PP, Lin SM et al.DOI: 10.1055/s-0039-3402761

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Wikidata facts

Image: Hypothyroidism.svg

Show 4 more facts

NCI Thesaurus ID: C26800
exact match: purl.obolibrary.org/obo/HP_0000821
Commons category: Hypothyroidism
ICD-9-CM: 244.9

Sources (11)

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~36 min read

Article

26 sections

Contents

Signs and symptoms
Myxedema coma
Pregnancy
Children
Causes
Pathophysiology
Diagnosis
Central
Overt
Subclinical
Pregnancy
Prevention
Screening
Management
Hormone replacement
Liothyronine
Desiccated animal thyroid
Subclinical hypothyroidism
Myxedema coma
Pregnancy
Alternative medicine
Epidemiology
History
Other animals
References
External links

Worldwide, too little iodine in the diet is the most common cause of hypothyroidism. Hashimoto's thyroiditis, an autoimmune disease wherein the body's immune system reacts to the thyroid gland, is the most common cause of hypothyroidism in countries with sufficient dietary iodine. Less common causes include previous treatment with radioactive iodine, injury to the hypothalamus or the anterior pituitary gland, certain medications, a lack of a functioning thyroid at birth, or previous thyroid surgery. The diagnosis of hypothyroidism, when suspected, can be confirmed with blood tests measuring thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) and thyroxine (T4) levels.