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Massive Study Establishes Thyroid Disease Prevalence at 11.7 Percent
Undertreatment Is Putting Americans at Increased Risk of Cardiovascular Complications
October 16, 1997 (Colorado Springs, CO) - The largest study ever to examine the prevalence of thyroid disease found that 11.7 percent of the study participants had abnormal thyroid function, yet only one percent of the total population were receiving treatment.
These new findings, presented at the American Thyroid AssociationÃs annual meeting, showed that 2,456 people (of 25,862 study participants) had an elevated TSH level, indicative of thyroid gland failure. Yet 2,198 people were not receiving thyroid hormone medication. Equally troubling, the study found that of those 1,525 people currently taking medication for both elevated and low thyroid hormone levels, a striking 40 percent still had an abnormal TSH level, thus were not under adequate control. Thyroid function was determined by using the sensitive assay for thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH), widely considered to provide the most accurate measure of thyroid gland activity.
"This research not only shows that there is a clear need to educate people about the importance of routine thyroid screening but, more importantly, that those who have been diagnosed need to be managed properly," said E. Chester Ridgway, division head of endocrinology at the University of Colorado and senior author of the study. "Because thyroid hormone levels fluctuate greatly, patients should follow their physiciansà prescribing instructions closely and have their level of TSH monitored regularly using a simple TSH test."
Because many symptoms of a thyroid disorder such as fatigue, depression and weight fluctuation are often subtle and not easy to identify, patients and their doctors often confuse thyroid disease with other conditions, including the natural aging process, menopause or stress. This is one primary reason patients are not screened on a regular basis.
Equally compelling research from the study demonstrated a strong correlation between abnormal thyroid function and elevated cholesterol levels. Study participants with an elevated TSH level experienced higher total cholesterol and LDL or "bad cholesterol" levels than patients with normal thyroid activity.
"Our findings confirm a link between an underactive thyroid and high cholesterol," noted Gay Canaris, MD of University of Nebraska Medical Center and lead author of the study. "Each year, almost 2 million people suffer a heart attack or stroke. The better we can help people control their thyroid condition, the better we can help them manage or even bring down their cholesterol levels, a major risk factor to coronary artery complications."
The thyroid gland, a butterfly shaped gland just below the AdamÃs apple, produces hormones that regulate the bodyÃs metabolism and organ function. There are two main types of thyroid disorder: hypothyroidism, which results when your thyroid fails to produce enough hormone and hyperthyroidism, which results when your thyroid produces more thyroid hormone than necessary. Side affects of thyroid disorder can range from sluggishness and depression to weakness and anxiety and left untreated over time, a thyroid disorder can affect a patientÃs cardiovascular system, reproductive system and major organs. Hypothyroidism is treated with levothyroxine sodium, which replaces the missing thyroid hormone in the body. Hyperthyroidism is treated with radioactive iodine, antithyroid drugs or surgery, all of which curb or eliminate thyroid hormone production in the thyroid gland.
The American Thyroid Association (ATA) is a professional society of more than 700 physicians and scientists dedicated to research and treatment of thyroid pathophysiology. One thousand physicians and researchers are attending the 70th annual meeting of the ATA in Colorado Springs, CO October 15-19, 1997.
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