According to figures from the American Thyroid Association, 60% of people with thyroid disease in the United States ignore each other. Last Monday, the American institution responsible for making recommendations in terms of prevention (the US Preventive Services Task Force) indicated that “current evidence is insufficient” to extend screening to people who do not have symptoms of the. hypothyroidism.
However, this opinion is not shared by the entire scientific community. For Richard Shames, endocrinologist and author of a book on thyroid disorders, “this is not necessarily advice for all people to watch. Hypothyroidism is one of the most common ailments in the United States and it is a disease that presents with extremely varied symptoms ”.
In addition, Kent Holtorf, physician president of the Academy of hypothyroidism is categorical: “it is obvious that the tests that we use do not detect most cases of hypothyroidism and that many people do not benefit from the appropriate treatments. “. According to him, the standard test which consists of a blood test to measure the level of TSH (thyroid hormones) is insufficient because this blood test would miss 50 to 80% of cases of hypothyroidism.
In France, the standards used for diagnosis are also debated. According to the American Thyroid Society, TSH should be between 0 and 3.5 (and between 0 and 2 for cholesterol because hypothyroidism increases cholesterol levels). However, in our country, apart from the large endocrinology departments, the standard adopted by most laboratories is between 0.5 and 4.5. This is how many French people are considered “normal” when they are likely to be hypothyroid.
Therefore, even if the TSH level is normal, it is important to monitor certain typical symptoms of hypothyroidism : chronic fatigue, weight gain, irritability, digestive problems, hair loss …
Source: Yahoo Health
