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Originally published January 31, 2017
Last updated May 15, 2025
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The thyroid gland is a small, squishy, butterfly-shaped gland located in the front of your neck above your collarbone. This unobtrusive little gland can have a huge impact on your health, says Trevor Angell, MD, an endocrinologist with Keck Medicine of USC.
Your thyroid produces two main hormones: thyroxine (T4) and triiodothyronine (T3). Together, these hormones influence the regulation of cellular activity for everything from digestion and heart function to muscle control, metabolism and body temperature. When the thyroid produces too much or too little of these hormones, you can experience a wide range of health issues.
There are many types of thyroid conditions, but the two most common are hypothyroidism and hyperthyroidism. Both conditions can affect various bodily systems, including brain function, heart rate, metabolism, menstrual cycle and fertility. Hair loss is also common in both conditions.
Hypothyroidism is having an underactive thyroid and not having enough thyroid hormone. This can slow your metabolism and cause many problems, including:
Hypothyroidism has several causes. They include:
In hyperthyroidism, the thyroid is overactive and produces too much of the thyroid hormones, which speeds up your metabolism and cause many different symptoms, including:
Hyperthyroidism has several causes. They include:
Women are significantly more likely than men to develop thyroid disorders, with rates about four times higher in women overall, Dr. Angell explains. The disparity is even more pronounced for hypothyroidism, which affects nearly 5 out of 100 Americans ages 12 years and up but affects women as much as nine times more frequently than men. These risks increase particularly after pregnancy and during menopause. Both hyperthyroidism and hypothyroidism are typically caused by autoimmune dysfunction, in which your body’s immune system attacks itself.
All the symptoms mentioned above are rather nonspecific, even when taken together, Dr. Angell cautions. This means that a mild thyroid condition can be difficult to diagnose based on symptoms alone. For this reason, your most effective approach is a medical evaluation and a thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) lab test, which can detect thyroid issues.
If you suspect you may have thyroid problems — especially if someone in your family has previously been diagnosed with thyroid or other autoimmune conditions — your primary care physician can use a simple blood test to diagnose thyroid function. The TSH test provides a highly accurate measurement. When autoimmune disorders of the thyroid are suspected, antibody tests may also be ordered.
Fortunately, many of the effects of thyroid dysfunction are often treatable by properly addressing the underlying thyroid imbalance. Depending on the patient’s reporting of symptoms and test results, several treatment options are available, from standard T4 hormone replacement to newer interventions.
Dr. Angell notes that recent advances have changed treatment approaches. “What’s particularly new is the recognition that some patients who don’t feel well on T4 alone might benefit from adding T3 supplementation, an approach that wasn’t recommended in the past,” he says. “On the hyperthyroid side, what is in development now are agents to block the antibody that actually causes Graves’ disease.”
Experts at Keck Medicine, including Dr. Angell, are continually researching new treatments and therapies for thyroid conditions. Unlike today, where T3 pills must be taken daily on an empty stomach, extended-release forms of T3 and subcutaneous delivery of T4 are in development, Dr. Angell says. Stay tuned.
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