Jahangeer Ganaie
Srinagar, Jul 25: The thyroid disorders like other diseases are on rise in Kashmir and more patients with this condition are being diagnosed as there is rising awareness of the disease in the society, doctors said.
Doctors said that thyroid is usually a lifelong condition and there is need to create an awareness regarding this disease and people need to adopt a healthy lifestyle.
Dr Sharik Masoodi, a leading Endocrinologist at SKIMS Soura said that hypothyroidism is found to be the most common thyroid disorder and it is more prevalent in females.
He said that thyroid disease is often asymptomatic or presents with subtle and non-specific symptoms, such as fatigue, weight gain, constipation etc and every person must undergo a test after every three years and those having such conditions in the family must undergo a test every year.
“The most common cause of thyroid disease is thyroid autoimmunity, which is often triggered by stress and the prevalence of autoimmune diseases may generally be increasing, as is reflected by the increasing incidence of other autoimmune diseases,” he added.
“Thyroid disorders or diseases can be broadly structural or functional. Structurally, there can be an increase in the size or nodularity of the gland (goitre) with or without malignant transformation. Functionally, the gland may become overactive (hyperthyroidism) or underactive (hypothyroidism), producing too much or too little thyroid hormones, respectively,” Dr Masoodi said.
He said: “Thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) secreted into the blood by the pituitary gland in the brain is an indirect indicator of thyroid function, with low TSH indicative of an overactive gland and high TSH level indicative of an underactive gland. However, there are exceptions to this rule, and one should avoid self-interpretation.”
He said that out of every 100 cases, the Out Patient Department (OPD) of Endocrinology registers 20-30 cases of thyroid and usually thyroid patients are being managed in OPD only.
The thyroid gland is a butterfly-shaped organ located at the base of the neck. It stores and releases thyroid hormones into the blood, hence regulating metabolism.
Another Endocrinologist from SKIMS said that thyroid hormones play a very important role in functioning of different organs in the body and all organs including heart, blood vessels, brain, liver and reproductive system needs thyroid hormones to function normally.
He said that common symptoms include anxiety, difficulty concentrating, fatigue, frequent bowel movements, goiter (visibly enlarged thyroid gland) or thyroid nodules, hair loss, hand tremor and heat intolerance.
“If your body makes too much thyroid hormone, you can develop a condition called hyperthyroidism. If your body makes too little thyroid hormone, it’s called hypothyroidism. Both conditions are serious and need to be treated by your healthcare provider,” he said.
He said that a thyroid disease is often a life-long medical condition that you will need to manage constantly and often involves daily medication.
