Genetic factors may play an important role, since women are more commonly affected. The condition may be related to ageing, since older people are at increased risk. Hashimoto's disease also tends to run in families, which suggests that heredity may be important.
However, the condition can cluster in families, and having a close relative with Hashimoto thyroiditis or another autoimmune disorder likely increases a person's risk of developing the condition.
A variation or mutation among these genes can cause your immune system to mistakenly attack your thyroid. Although you may be more likely to develop Hashimoto's disease if it's in your family medical history, this does not guarantee you will develop the disease yourself.
Some children are born with it — this is called congenital hypothyroidism. Others develop it later, usually late in childhood or as teens.
Although the disease may occur in teens or young women, it more often develops in women ages 30 to 50. Your chance of developing Hashimoto's disease increases if other family members have the disease.
If Hashimoto's is left untreated, complications can be life-threatening. Because the hormones produced by the thyroid are so vital to the body's functions, untreated Hashimoto's can lead to serious and even life-threatening complications.
It's possible to have Hashimoto's thyroiditis for years without experiencing a single sign or symptom. But if you have symptoms, they will be associated with the disorder's two primary complications—goiter and hypothyroidism. Not all individuals will develop these complications.
What is the cause of Hashimoto's thyroiditis? Hashimoto's thyroiditis is an autoimmune disorder. Normally, your autoimmune system protects your body by attacking bacteria and viruses. But with this disease, your immune system attacks your thyroid gland by mistake.
Too much iodine in the diet may function as a trigger among people already at risk for Hashimoto's disease. Radiation exposure. People exposed to excessive levels of environmental radiation are more prone to Hashimoto's disease.
Anti-thyroid antibodies (ATA) tests, such as the microsomal antibody test (also known as thyroid peroxidase antibody test) and the anti-thyroglobulin antibody test, are commonly used to detect the presence of Hashimoto's thyroiditis.
Hashimoto's disease can make it hard to get pregnant and lead to serious pregnancy complications, including preeclampsia, anemia, miscarriage, and placental abruption. Having good thyroid hormone levels before pregnancy can lower your risk of some problems. After delivery, you may be at risk of postpartum hemorrhage.
Hashimoto's disease tends to worsen with age because it is progressive. The disease generally progresses slowly over many years and can cause progressive damage to the thyroid glands. Additionally, it is expected that those with Hashimoto's disease will eventually get hypothyroidism, though this is not always the case.
Symptoms of a Hashimoto's Flare-Up
Constipation. Dry skin. Puffy face. Muscle aches.
Biochemical markers of the disease are thyroid peroxidase and/or thyroglobulin autoantibodies in the serum which are present with a higher prevalence in females than in males and increase with age.
In people with Hashimoto's, the immune system attacks the thyroid. This can lead to hypothyroidism, a condition in which the thyroid does not make enough hormones for the body's needs. Located in the front of your neck, the thyroid gland makes hormones that control metabolism.
Hashimoto's Disease: Understand the 3 stages of this disease that affects our thyroid glands, as explained by nutritionist Rashi Chowdhary. The thyroid is an essential gland in the human body. Now, you need to understand that Hashimoto's disease is an autoimmune disorder that affects the thyroid gland.
The main complication associated with Hashimoto's is that it greatly increases your risk of developing another autoimmune disorder, such as Addison's disease, Graves' disease, type 1 diabetes, lupus, or rheumatoid arthritis.
Autoimmune hypothyroidism can begin suddenly, but in most people it develops slowly over years. The most common form of autoimmune hypothyroidism is called Hashimoto's disease.
Researchers aren't entirely sure what causes Hashimoto's disease, but they suggest that stress may be an environmental trigger. Studies show that psychological and physiologic stressors affect the immune system, which may contribute to the development of autoimmune conditions.
Another cause for individuals may also be various dietary sensitivities, like gluten or lactose, which can lead to leaky gut, chronic inflammation, and a possible elevation in thyroid antibodies that would show the presence of Hashimoto's.
Overt hypothyroidism or full-blown disease
The end-stage of Hashimoto's is when your thyroid has become so damaged that you no longer have enough thyroid hormones and have to go on medication.
Hashimoto's thyroiditis is a type of autoimmune disease — your immune system doesn't recognize your thyroid as your own and attacks it. Hashimoto's disease is common and affects about five people in 100 in the United States.
Hashimoto's encephalopathy is a rare complication in which the swelling of the brain can cause profound and debilitating neurological symptoms. The condition only affects around two of every 100,000 people each year and usually between the ages of 41 and 44.
You may sleep more than usual but still feel completely exhausted. You may not even have the energy to exercise. At times, you may fall asleep during the day or very quickly at night. In the morning, you may find it difficult to get out of bed.