Diagnosis
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Antibody status may hide thyroid dysfunction under a normal TSH
This article is part of a series of examples that illustrate why a normal TSH cannot rule out thyroid disease or dysfunction. In a recent series of posts, I revealed the science revealing distortions in the HPT axis due to age and sex (See “Age bias may hide hypothyroidism under a normal TSH“). Antibody distortions…
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BBC UK TV segment on hypothyroidism is re-broadcast by TVO in Canada
A five-minute documentary segment on the topic of hypothyroidism is found in the BBC UK TV series “Trust Me, I’m a Doctor,” season 6 episode 2. It was first aired in the UK on February, 2017. The segment is part of the show’s larger discussion of the question, “Can we boost our metabolic rate?” It…
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Pediatric and teenage TSH, FT4, and FT3 levels
Scientists that study the effect of age on thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH), Free T4 (FT4) and Free T3 (FT3) thyroid hormones often exclude the age group from birth up to age 16, 18, or 19. They usually exclude children and teenagers because they know they are different. Describing their TSH and thyroid hormones is its own…
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Age bias may hide hypothyroidism under a normal TSH
Scientists have been explaining that TSH responds to thyroid hormones differently in childhood, early adulthood, late adulthood and very advanced age. This poses a problem for regions that have implemented TSH-only screening for thyroid dysfunction. The effect of age on TSH is one of many factors that can make this screening test less accurate (Ling…
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Can a normal TSH rule out thyroid disease?
If you are well-informed by current thyroid science, you already know the answer to the question in the title. “No. A normal TSH cannot rule out thyroid disease.” Since the 1990s, physicians have been taught to use simplistic category-based interpretations of TSH (and Free T4) as “in or out of range” to classify people as…