Take the Thyroid Quiz
The thyroid is a gland that controls key functions of your body. It is a butterfly-shaped organ located in the front of the neck. The thyroid gland produces thyroid hormones, which help to maintain the body’s metabolism or production of energy. Disease of the thyroid gland can affect nearly every organ in your body and harm your health.
1. The most common thyroid disorder is:
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The most common thyroid disorder is hypothyroidism, or an underactive thyroid. In hypothyroidism, the thyroid gland doesn’t produce enough thyroid hormone. The most common cause of this disorder worldwide is a diet deficient in iodine. In this country, as late as 1950, half of all adults in the "goiter belt"—the Great Lakes and inland mountain areas—had a goiter, which is an enlargement of the thyroid gland, because of an iodine deficiency. Now, because of the addition of iodine to table salt, U.S. diets are not deficient in this trace element. Today, the most common cause of hypothyroidism in this country is an autoimmune disease called Hashimoto's thyroiditis. The normal function of the body’s immune system is to protect against bacteria, viruses, and other foreign substances. For a person with Hashimoto’s thyroiditis, the body’s immune system attacks the thyroid cells as foreign bodies and destroys them. The thyroid gland is then unable to produce enough thyroid hormone to meet the body’s need. Other causes of hypothyroidism include surgical removal of the thyroid, radiation treatment, congenital hypothyroidism, medications, and conditions of the pituitary gland.
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