January is Thyroid Awareness Month

• The thyroid gland is the small, butterfly-shaped gland found just below the Adam’s apple.
• The thyroid gland produces hormones that influence essentially every organ, tissue and cell in the body. In short, if the thyroid doesn’t work properly, neither do you.

Who Has Thyroid Disease

• 27 million Americans have overactive or underactive thyroid glands but more than half remain undiagnosed.
• More than 8 out of 10 patients with thyroid disease are women.
• Women are 5 to 8 times more likely than men to suffer from hypothyroidism (underactive thyroid).
• Fifteen to 20 percent of people with diabetes and their siblings or parents are likely to develop thyroid disease.

See Thyroid Brochures

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Hypothyroidism and Pregnancy

• Nearly 1 out of 50 women in the U.S. is diagnosed with hypothyroidism during pregnancy.

• 6 out of every 100 miscarriages are associated with thyroid hormone deficiencies during pregnancy.

• Five to 18 percent of women are diagnosed with postpartum thyroiditis.

• Approximately 25 percent of women will develop permanent hypothyroidism.

Thyroid Disease & Children

• One out of every five thousand babies born in the U.S. has hypothyroidism.

• Undiagnosed hypothyroid children may experience slowed growth rate.

• Additional symptoms include sluggishness, pallor, dry and itchy scalp, increased sensitivity to cold and constipation.

Hypothyroidism & Aging

• Incidence of hypothyroidism (underactive thyroid) increases with age.

• By age 60, as many as 17 percent of women and 9 percent of men have an underactive thyroid.

Common Symptoms of Hyperthyroidism

• Heat intolerance, sweating

• Weight loss

• Alterations in appetite

• Frequent bowel movements

• Changes in vision

• Fatigue and muscle weakness

• Menstrual disturbance

• Impaired fertility

• Mental disturbances

• Sleep disturbances

• Tremors

• Thyroid enlargement

Common Symptoms of Hypothyroidism

• Fatigue

• Forgetfulness

• Depression

• Heavy menses

• Dry, course hair

• Mood swings

• Weight gain

• Hoarse voice

• Dry, course skin

• Constipation

For more information on thyroid disease, see American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists

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