Causes of thyroid disorder

Causes of thyroid disorder

Autoimmune disease - the commonest cause. The immune system mistakenly attacks the thyroid:

• Hashimoto's thyroiditis: slow destruction of the gland leading to hypothyroidism. It runs in families and is far more common in women.
• Graves' disease: antibodies stimulate the gland into overdrive, causing hyperthyroidism, sometimes with eye protrusion.

Iodine imbalance. Iodine is the raw material for thyroid hormone. Too little iodine causes goiter and hypothyroidism - historically widespread in India and the reason salt is iodized. But excess iodine (from kelp supplements, seaweed concentrates or certain medicines) can also trigger thyroid dysfunction, especially in susceptible people. More iodine is not better.

Thyroiditis (inflammation). After viral infections or after childbirth (postpartum thyroiditis), the gland can leak hormone - a brief hyperthyroid phase often followed by a temporary hypothyroid phase, usually recovering within months.

Medicines and treatments. Amiodarone (heart medicine), lithium, some cancer immunotherapies, and interferons can disturb thyroid function. Radioiodine treatment or thyroid surgery deliberately reduces function, causing expected hypothyroidism.

Nodules and goiter. Lumps in the thyroid are common and mostly benign, but a minority are cancers, so persistent nodules need evaluation with ultrasound and sometimes a needle test.

Congenital hypothyroidism. Some babies are born with an absent or underactive thyroid - every newborn should be screened, because early treatment prevents intellectual disability.

Remember: most thyroid problems are autoimmune and nobody's fault; iodized salt in normal quantity is right, kelp/iodine supplements are not self-treatment.

Ayurvedic view (interpretive)

Ayurveda attributes thyroid-like disorders to dosha imbalance and weakened agni - an interpretive frame. The proven causes are the ones above, found by blood tests and imaging.