Thyroid Disorders: Why They Are So Common

Some experts say a woman over 35 has a 30 percent chance of developing a thyroid disorder. One simple explanation is that today’s more sensitive and sophisticated tests catch the ailment sooner, leading to more diagnoses. But even if that’s true many experts think hypothyroidism is under-diagnosed, and researchers don’t know why. Possible explanations include:

Stress
It’s everywhere these days. Many thyroidologists recommend that patients try yoga, meditation, and other stress-reducers. Some experts believe that finding healthy ways to cope with stress might help prevent immune-system attacks like Hashimoto’s thyroiditis, the most frequent cause of hypothyroidism, or at least slow its onset.

Environmental toxins
Chemicals that disrupt the body’s endocrine system may be throwing people’s hormones out of whack. An American Thyroid Association investigative meeting in the spring tackled the topic of environmental effects on the thyroid.

Nutritional deficiencies and/or imbalances
Too much or too little iodine, selenium deficiency from soil, fluoride in water, and too much soy in today’s diet may be culprits.