Hypothyroidism in Teens
The malfunction of the thyroid gland can cause hypothyroidism in teens and adults. The thyroid has an enormously important job to do, especially for teens, namely it controls growth, metabolism and sexual maturity. The thyroid hormones are released from the gland and travel through the bloodstream to the body's cells. They control the growth and the structure of bones, sexual development (puberty), and how most of the organs function. The body experiences problems both when the thyroid is producing excess of the hormones (hyperthyroidism) and when it is not producing sufficient hormones (hypothyroidism).
Hypothyroidism in Teens
Hypothyroidism in teens may cause the patient to feel depressed and sluggish. The teens may gain weight, even though they have not increased their food intake nor reduced their physical exercise. Hypothyroidism in teens may induce slowing down of the growth in height, hamper sexual development and weakness in the muscles. With the onset of puberty , hypothyroidism in teens may slow down or interfere with the teen's physical development and teens with hypothyroidism usually look much younger than their age. Hypothyroidism in teen girls may also cause a girl to have changes in her periods and these girls may experience decreased or increased menstrual flow or the time between periods may be longer or shorter than normal.
Other effects noticed in cases of hypothyroidism in teens are dry skin, poor memory, loss of hair and attention deficit (trouble in concentrating).
Hashimoto's thyroiditis, which is also an autoimmune disease, is one the most common causes of hypothyroidism in teens. In this condition, the hormone producing cells in the thyroid gland are attacked by the body's own immune system. This damages these cells and the amount of thyroid hormones produced is reduced, causing hypothyroidism. In teens, this may cause the thyroid to try producing more hormones to compensate for the decrease. This can make the thyroid become enlarged and this is called a goiter.
