{"id":5253,"date":"2019-05-31T08:05:53","date_gmt":"2019-05-31T12:05:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pentadocs.com\/?p=5253"},"modified":"2023-12-04T17:19:33","modified_gmt":"2023-12-04T22:19:33","slug":"research-shows-thyroid-disease-is-overtreated","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pentadocs.com\/research-shows-thyroid-disease-is-overtreated\/","title":{"rendered":"Research Shows Thyroid Disease is Overtreated"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Thyroid disease is pretty common in Abington and throughout the U.S.; doctors estimate about 20 million people are affected \u2013 and up to 60 percent aren\u2019t even aware of their condition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

New research indicates those who are<\/em> receiving treatment for one common type of thyroid disorder might not be benefitting and that physicians should reconsider their approach.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Is Hypothyroidism Treatment Ineffective?<\/h2>\n\n\n
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The thyroid<\/a> is a butterfly-shaped gland in the neck responsible for producing hormones that regulate the body\u2019s metabolism.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Excessive hormone production causes hyperthyroidism and insufficient hormone production leads to hypothyroidism. It is this latter disease that may not respond to treatment as well as previously thought.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hypothyroidism occurs when too little thyroid hormone is produced.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This slows down metabolism, causing a wide range of symptoms that include fatigue, weight gain, joint and muscle pain, puffiness in the face, constipation, intolerance to cold, slow heart-rate, dry skin, thinning hair, lack of perspiration, heavy or irregular menstruation, fertility problems and depression.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

About one in 20 people in Abington suffer from hypothyroidism and they are most likely to be female; women are 5-8x as likely to experience thyroid disease as men.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Standard treatment for hypothyroidism involves taking a synthetic thyroid hormone for life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, an international team of researchers has found this daily pill regimen doesn\u2019t do much for a majority of patients.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They gathered data from 21 clinical trials involving 2,192 patients, most of whom were 65 or older.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Their report<\/a>, published in the May 14 issue of The BMJ<\/em>, indicates that few patients benefit from treatment; medication does little to relieve symptoms associated with hypothyroidism and doctors tend to over-treat the disease because they have been conditioned to do so.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

New guidelines strongly recommending against treating hypothyroidism with replacement thyroid hormones.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They caution that people diagnosed with hypothyroidism in Abington and elsewhere should still try out hormone replacement therapy for a few months, as some individuals do show improvement with drugs. But with very little payoff for others, it makes little sense to continue a costly regimen for life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you\u2019re being treated for hypothyroidism, talk to your Pinnacle<\/a> ear, nose and throat specialist and assess whether synthetic thyroid hormone is making a positive difference in your life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n


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