‘It’s not you. It’s your thyroid.’ Campaign Launched to Raise Awareness of Symptoms - Seite 3

About thyroid disorders  

There are two primary types of thyroid disorder: hypothyroidism and hyperthyroidism, which both have different causes and symptoms.

Hypothyroidism, or an underactive thyroid gland, is caused when the thyroid gland does not produce enough thyroid hormones. This means that the body's cells can't get enough thyroid hormones to work properly and the body's metabolism slows down.^[11]

Hypothyroidism can have many causes, including autoimmune disease, damage to the thyroid gland, too much or too little iodine, and radiation treatment.^[11]

Left untreated, the symptoms of hypothyroidism will usually progress, and can cause more serious complications and even become life-threatening.^[4]

Hyperthyroidism, or an overactive thyroid gland, occurs when the thyroid gland releases too much thyroid hormone in the bloodstream, speeding up the body's metabolism.^[10]

Hyperthyroidism tends to run in families, occurring most commonly in young women.^[10]

The majority of cases of hyperthyroidism are caused by a condition called Graves' disease.^[10] In this condition, antibodies in the blood activate the thyroid gland, causing it to grow in size and secrete too much thyroid hormone.^[10] Another type of hyperthyroidism is characterized by nodules or lumps in the thyroid gland, which increase the levels of thyroid hormone in the blood.^[10] It is important that the symptoms of hyperthyroidism are not left untreated as serious complications can occur.^[5]

How common are thyroid disorders?  

Thyroid disorders are some of the most-frequent diseases in the world with about 1.6 billion people worldwide at risk.^[12] By the age of 60, 17% of women and 8% of men suffer from an underactive thyroid.^[3]

An underactive thyroid gland is more common in women than in men and its occurrence rises with age. An overactive thyroid gland is 10 times more common in women than in men. It is most common in the age group of 20-40 years, but may occur at any age.^[2]

About the survey^[6]

The global omnibus survey was conducted by Censuswide, with online interviews conducted 24-31 January 2017 among the women aged 18 and over.

From seven countries worldwide 6,171 women were polled:

• France - 1,006 respondents
• Italy - 1,004 respondents
• Mexico - 1,002 respondents
• Brazil - 1,003 respondents
• Saudi Arabia - 151 respondents
• Chile - 1,001 respondents
• Indonesia - 1,004 respondents

People with a history of thyroid disorders were screened out.