Hypothyroid symptoms in population based case-control study

Hypothyroidism is a common disorder and may present with a variety of symptoms reflecting hormonal insufficiency in different organs. Often symptoms develop insidiously and may go unnoticed for prolonged periods. It is generally accepted that patients suffering from hypothyroidism may express few symptoms, but this has not been studied in a population-based study design

Carlé et al. studied the array of symptoms as they are reported in newly diagnosed overt autoimmune hypothyroidism using a population-based case–control design. They found that hypothyroidism presented with a broad spectrum of symptoms. However, many of those symptoms were also experienced by volunteer control subjects. They therefore recommend that even a minor suspicion from the clinician should lead to a thyroid function test, as many undiagnosed patients present only few symptoms.

Read full article at Carlé et al. (2014) European Journal of Endocrinology 2014 171 593-602. DOI: 10.1530/EJE-14-0481