The Thyroid and the Elderly
For many older adults, it's not unusual to experience some mild forgetfulness, fatigue, and difficulty sleeping. You may also feel somewhat depressed and find that you've become intolerant of the cold. Your skin and hair may be dry, and you may not have the appetite you once did. You may also notice that you have heart palpitations and some pains in your chest, especially when lugging groceries or climbing stairs.
None of these symptoms sound unusual to someone who is getting older. And if you're like many older adults, you simply chalk up these myriad ailments to advancing age. But in reality, these signs and symptoms could also be clues that you have thyroid disease.
Statistics show that thyroid disease — particularly hypothyroidism — is more common in older adults than it is in younger people. While younger women are more likely to have problems with their immune system, putting them at risk for Hashimoto's or Graves' disease, men start catching up with women as they get older. The ability of the thyroid gland to produce enough thyroid hormone also can diminish with age. Consider these statistics from the AACE:
One out of every five women over the age of sixty-five has a higher than normal TSH level, an indication of hypothyroidism.
Approximately 15 percent of all patients diagnosed with hyperthyroidism are over the age of sixty.
By age sixty, 17 percent of women and 9 percent of men have hypothyroidism. In numbers, that's about 5.7 million women and 2.7 million men.
Approximately 20 to 25 percent of Americans over the age of sixty suffer from symptoms of mental illness, such as depression, which might actually be attributed to thyroid disease.
Often, it takes a vigilant doctor to catch thyroid disease in an elderly patient. Most physicians — and patients, too — are more apt to suspect heart disease, depression, and aging as the cause of symptoms. But if you have a personal or family history of thyroid or autoimmune disease, you may want to consider your thyroid as a possible culprit.
