20
&
September 2015
The Thyroid and Your
Mental Health
Thyroid deficiency can
contribute to depression
By Dr. Tom Miller, Staff Writer
The thyroid gland, located in
the neck, looks a lot like a butterfly
with the two wings. These “wings”
are the left and right thyroid lobes,
which wrap around the trachea. The
primary purpose of the thyroid is to
produce a hormone. This hormone
has an effect on nearly all the tissues
of the body because it increases cellular activity that regulates the body’s
metabolism.
The hypothalamus at the base
of the brain manages the thyroid.
At a signal from the hypothalamus,
the pituitary gland sends thyroidstimulating hormone (TSH) into our
bloodstream. On its journey, it travels
to the thyroid gland and causes the
release of thyroxine, which is partly
converted into triiodothyronine.
Through a feedback mechanism, the
hypothalamus determines when levels of thyroxine and triiodothyronine
are low and alerts the pituitary gland
to supply more TSH to maintain
body metabolism balance.
Current estimates suggest that as
many as 12 million Americans suffer
from thyroid-related disorders, and in
more than 80 percent of these cases,
the problem is an underachieving
thyroid gland. This is known as hypothyroidism. The condition is more
common in women than in men,
and the rate rises with age, reaching
20 percent in women over 65 years.
The interest for mental health is that
thyroid deficiency may be associated with cognitive and emotional
ance, irritability, muscle cramps or
weakness. Seniors may experience
symptoms of anorexia, weight loss,
falling and decreased mobility.
Clinical hypothyroidism is identified by an abnormally high level of
TSH and abnormally low levels of
thyroid hormones. It is treated with a
synthetic form of thyroxine, taken in
a pill. Subclinical thyroid deficiency,
which has few or no symptoms, is
defined as abnormally high TSH
with normal thyroid hormone levels.
Experts disagree on whether and
when it requires treatment.
Thyroid health is much more than
pumping out thyroxin. It is a complex process that involves interaction
be