Share this:
The thyroid gland creates and produces hormones that play a role in many systems throughout the body. When your thyroid makes too much or too little of these important hormones, it’s called thyroid disease.
And thyroid disease is common.
"We know that about 10% of people have some degree of thyroid dysfunction," says Dr. Juan Brito Campana, a Mayo Clinic endocrinologist.
There are several different types of thyroid disease, including hyperthyroidism, or overactive thyroid; hypothyroidism or underactive thyroid; and Hashimoto’s disease, where the immune system attacks the thyroid gland. Hypothyroidism is the most common thyroid disease. Treatment for hypothyroidism involves daily use of levothyroxine, a synthetic thyroid hormone that restores adequate hormone levels.
Levothyroxine is one of the most common prescription drugs in the U.S., but a new study by Mayo Clinic researchers suggests it is significantly overused in people with mild hypothyroidism or no apparent thyroid dysfunction. These results were published in JAMA Internal Medicine.
On the Mayo Clinic Q&A podcast, Dr. Brito Campana discusses diagnosis and treatment for thyroid disease, and what the research on the overuse of levothyroxine means for patients.
Watch: Dr. Brito discuss treatment of thyroid disease:
Read the full transcript.
____________________________________________
For the safety of its patients, staff and visitors, Mayo Clinic has strict masking policies in place. Anyone shown without a mask was recorded prior to COVID-19 or recorded in an area not designated for patient care, where social distancing and other safety protocols were followed.
Share this:
Related articles
The holiday season can invite unwelcome guests into your life, such as loneliness, money problems, family demands and unrealistic expectations. The stress and anxiety that ...
National Handwashing Awareness Week will be observed Dec. 3–9, so this is a good time for a reminder that washing your hands is one of the ...
The Food and Drug Administration is expected to decide by Dec. 8 on a new therapy to treat sickle cell disease using gene editing technology called CRISPR, ...