Study about Hypothyroidism as an Underdiagnosed Metabolic Disorder

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to explain why the prevalence of hypothyroidism appears to be significantly higher than that reported in the medical literature. Most hypothyroidism (low thyroid function) patients go undiagnosed because laboratory tests only identify the presence of thyroid hormone in the blood and cannot tell us how much active hormone reaches the biological tissues that require it for metabolism. The thyroid gland's primary role is to control metabolism. The primary hormone secreted by the thyroid is thyroxine (T4), which is physiologically inactive. T4 has to be converted into its active form, triiodothyronine (T3), in order to exert its effects. The body's deiodinase enzymes, which are found in abundance in the majority of its tissues, catalyse this conversion. Reduced basal metabolism and concurrent hypothyroidism occur when insufficient T3 enters body cells. The physiological problem of low thyroid function frequently goes undetected by hormone blood tests. The physiological baseline temperature test (BTT), however, is 100 percent accurate at identifying hypothyroidism.