An Overview of Thyroid Disorders in Older Patients
The thyroid gland, responsible for producing thyroid hormones and located in the front part of our neck and shaped like a butterfly, is one of the most important organs in our body. Thyroid hormones play a vital role in regulating bodily functions such as metabolism, blood pressure, body temperature, and heart rate. Thyroid hormones also aid in muscle function, brain development, and bone maintenance.
The thyroid gland produces three hormones: T3 (triiodothyronine), T4 (thyroxine), and calcitonin. Among these, the first two hormones ( T3 and T4) are collectively known as the thyroid hormone. The fluctuation in thyroid hormones creates a variety of disorders and diseases. Apart from hormonal imbalance disorders, thyroid disorders can occur due to autoimmune issues; in this case, the immune system of our body attacks our thyroid gland, causing problems. Thyroid disorders can affect you at any time, and especially in women, they affect the hormonal balance and cause menstruation and fertility issues. But in this article, we are going to discuss the effects of thyroid disorders on older patients.
Thyroid Disorders
Thyroid cancer, goiter, thyroid nodule, thyroiditis, hyperthyroidism, and hypothyroidism are some of the most well-known thyroid disorders.
Hyperthyroidism: Hyperthyroidism is a disorder that happens when the thyroid gland produces more thyroid hormones than our body needs. Also called overactive thyroid, hyperthyroidism speeds up the metabolism. As a result, people who are affected by hyperthyroidism experience symptoms like sudden weight loss, arrhythmia (irregular heartbeat), and sweating.
Hypothyroidism: If hyperthyroidism is due to the excess of thyroid hormones, hypothyroidism is due to the deficiency of thyroid hormones. The symptoms of hypothyroidism include weight gain, fatigue, cold sensitivity, etc.
Diagnosing thyroid disorders in the elderly
As we already know, thyroid disorders can occur in people of any age, but the symptoms and diagnosing ease of these disorders are very different in the elderly compared to regular adults. Even though thyroid diseases are common in the elderly, they often go undiagnosed due to the difficulty of recognising the more subtle symptoms.
In younger patients, the symptoms of hypothyroidism and hyperthyroidism are more obvious and easily recognised by an experienced physician, but when it comes to the elderly, even though some symptoms are similar to those of the younger demographic, more often the symptoms are subtle, and they are often mistaken for a nervous system issue or a heart or bowl issue. It is also very difficult to differentiate between hypothyroidism and hyperthyroidism in the elderly when the symptoms are easily distinguishable in younger adults. This struggle and confusion to accurately diagnose thyroid disorders in the elderly is one of the main challenges faced by physicians who treat older patients.
Hyperthyroidism in the elderly and treatments
In younger people who are suffering from hyperthyroidism (overactive thyroid), symptoms such as weight loss, nervousness, sweating, and tremor are easily recognisable, but when it comes to elderly patients, there are only a few symptoms, such as heart palpitations, tremor, and sometimes depression. These symptoms can also be considered general discomforts of old age, so there is a huge chance for hyperthyroidism to go undiagnosed in older patients.
If we get past the difficult diagnosing phase, hyperthyroidism in elderly patients is generally treated using antithyroid medicines and radioactive iodine, much like in younger patients. surgery is also a treatment option in some cases for younger patients, but when it comes to older patients, surgery is rarely suggested due to the high risk. A detailed endocrine consultation is also recommended due to these risk factors. In elderly patients, due to the likelihood of other simultaneously occurring diseases, the treatment of hyperthyroidism is done very carefully while frequently monitoring various bodily functions such as the heart rate.
Hypothyroidism in the elderly and treatments
Compared to hyperthyroidism, hypothyroidism is one of the most commonly occurring thyroid disorders in elderly patients, especially in older women. We know that the symptoms of hyperthyroidism are very specific, at least in the younger demographic, but when it comes to hypothyroidism, the symptoms are very random and even more nonspecific in elderly patients. memory loss and a decrease in cognitive function might be two of the only symptoms we can identify in elderly patients with severe hypothyroidism, but these symptoms are also very closely associated with old age.
So, much like hyperthyroidism, or even more so, diagnosing hypothyroidism in elderly patients is an extremely difficult task. Physicians often depend on patients’ medical histories of thyroid-related diseases or family histories of thyroid disorders to guess the possibility of hypothyroidism in elderly patients and proceed to the next steps of diagnosis and treatment. Levothyroxine is one of the major medicines used to treat hypothyroidism, and to avoid any adverse effects on the heart and nervous system in elderly patients, doctors usually start with milder doses and gradually increase the dose as the patient’s body gets familiar with the drug.
Diagnose right!
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