Twelve in 100 Americans will be diagnosed at some point in their lifetimes with a thyroid disorder. Hypothyroidism, or under-active thyroid gland, is treated with the drug levothyroxine, which has been called the second-most frequently prescribed drug in the U.S.
As a long and interesting article in TheAtlantic.com discussed, one of the hottest controversies in endocrinology is hypothyroidism and its treatment. Thyroid disorders are off-the-charts more common in women than men, and possibly as many as 2 million people, according to some estimates, have a thyroid disorder that hasn’t been diagnosed.
“Some might lack access to or money for doctors,” according to the story, “but for many, it’s just that the symptoms of hypothyroidism are so vague. Who doesn’t feel tired, fat and depressed sometimes?”
“‘The symptoms of hypothyroidism are diverse and they mimic the symptoms of everyday life,’ said Scott Isaacs, the medical director at the Atlanta Endocrine Associates in Georgia. ‘They could be the thyroid, but they could be something else.'”
Read the whole story here: