Thyroid disease is a general term for a medical condition that keeps your thyroid from making the right amount of hormones. It can affect people of all ages.
Your thyroid is a small, butterfly-shaped gland located at the front of your neck under your skin. It’s a part of your endocrine system and controls many of your body’s important functions by producing and releasing thyroid hormones, like thyroxine (T4) and triiodothyronine (T3).
Your thyroid’s main job is to control the speed of your metabolism (metabolic rate). This is the process of how your body transforms the food you consume into energy. All the cells in your body need energy to function. When your thyroid isn’t working properly, it can impact your entire body.
What are the risk factors of thyroid disease?
You may be at a higher risk of developing a thyroid condition if you:
- Are assigned female at birth (AFAB). People AFAB are five to eight times more likely to have a thyroid condition than people assigned male at birth (AMAB).
- Have a family history of thyroid disease.
- Have Turner syndrome.
- Take a medication that’s high in iodine.
- Live in a country or area that doesn’t have iodized table salt, which can lead to iodine deficiency.
- Are older than 60, especially if you’re AFAB.
- Have received radiation therapy to your head and/or neck.
Having an autoimmune disease also increases your risk, especially if you have:
- Pernicious anemia.
- Type 1 diabetes.
- Celiac disease.
- Addison’s disease (primary adrenal insufficiency).
- Lupus.
- Rheumatoid arthritis.
- Sjögren’s syndrome.