Why is hypothyroidism more common in women than men?
I know what hypothyroidism is, but what causes more women to have hypothyroidism than men? If a male has hypothyroidism what would be some causes to that? In general, what are some underlying causes of hypothyroidism? My dad told me he went to the doctors and has hypothyroidism and has to go back to find out the causes. I don’t know if their is a family history of hypothyroidism or other auto-immune diseases.
Thyroid activity fluctuates within the day in response to diet, stress, temperature, etc. In light of this knowledge, one can speculate or identify genetic, hormonal, lifestyle, & dietary factors as contributors to hypothyroidism.
Since hypothyroidism often besets someone gradually, it is one of the degenerative diseases that gets noticed as lifespans increase.As you mentioned, autoimmune diseases can target the thyroid & cause dysfunction, either by elevating thyroid activity or decreasing it (sometimes it increases it first & then decreases it later). It’s hard to isolate this as genetic or hormonal, since women do tend to have more autoimmune disorders. Perhaps it’s both. Estradiol (an estrogen) can have an antagonistic effect on thyroid function by competing for binding sites. If estradiol binds first, then thyroxine/tetraiodothyronine (T4) & triidothyronine (T3) cannot exert their effects. Estradiol also limits other thermogenic (calorie burning) & potentially thyroid stimulating effects due to its functions in limiting muscular development & encouraging fat storage. Furthermore, estradiol does not limit the activity of the adrenal glands the way that testosterone does. The "fatigue" of the adrenal glands (not as pronounced or fatal as Addison’s Disease) due to insufficient curbing of their activity can decrease thyroid function. Lifestyle factors such as lack of stress reduction accelerate this process. Finally, women tend to consume less calories than men; more specifically, they eat less fat & protein. Whereas adequate fat consumption is essential for the production of certain hormones (cortisol, aldosterone, progesterone, estradiol, testosterone, etc.), adequate protein consumption is essential for peptide hormones like thyroid hormones. Thyroid hormones consist of the amino acid tyrosine combined with 1, 2, 3, or 4 atoms of iodine (hence, they have names such as tri – iodo – thyronine). In the hope of losing weight or keeping weight down, many women deprive themselves of the building blocks for healthy amounts of hormones. Some foods & supplements are goitrogenic (goiter inducing/reduce thyroid activity), such as soy. Sometimes, the cause is idiopathic (of unknown origin).
Men with hypothyroidism may have similar causes, such as an insufficient diet, excessive stress, etc. Low testosterone may correlate with low thyroid hormones, but it’s hard to say which causes which, as there are thyroid receptors in the testes, yet testosterone may increase or decrease thyroid hormone production (without necessarily causing hypothyroid symptoms). Likewise, men may have idiopathic hypothyroidism.
Most of the factors listed above still fall within two basic categories: primary (the organ itself) hypothyroidism or secondary (the organ[s] that instruct it to act) hypothyroidism. Both men & women may have hypothyroidism as a result of inadequate TSH (thyroid stimulating hormone) from the pituitary gland or failure of the thyroid to respond properly to TSH.
Sorry to make your eyes bleed from this lengthy response. As a final consideration, make sure your dad’s doctor tests for thyroid function thoroughly via blood tests. TSH standards for hypothyroidism have been drastically revised (from 5.0 or greater to 3.0 or greater), & TSH itself is insufficient to identify true hypothyroidism without accounting for symptoms. The pituitary often mismeasures need for thyroid stimulating hormone. T4, T3, free T4, free T3, & reverse T3 are vital for determining true thyroid function. The source listed below contains information from patients contending with hypothyroidism who seek the best, most up-to-date medical advice concerning their disease. I wish you & your father well, as this can be very difficult to treat without a good doctor *who listens*.
My goof friend (male) and my nan both had it.
My nan had it due to a defiency in iodine in her diet which she didn’t get checked for years, until she had to get her thyroid removed and is now on thyroxine.
My friend had at as result of having caner of the thyroid.
That’s all I can offer you, sorry.