hypothyroidism
Sign in to saveHypothyroidism 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
Article
26 sectionsContents
- 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
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.
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.