It's one of the most common ailments that affect people in our country. The reason, you may think, could be because it's hard to diagnose or tough to treat. But thyroid disorders, experts say, are common for neither of these reasons (in fact, it's easy to diagnose and treat).

"The problem actually is lack of awareness," said Dr R V Jayakumar, President of Indian Thyroid Association (ITS), which had announced January as "thyroid month" in India, with a slogan "think thyroid."

One of the largest endocrine glands in the body, Thyroid -which means shield in Greek- gets its name due to its shape - a double-lobed structure. The gland is found in the neck close to the larynx. Thyroid controls how quickly the body burns energy, makes protein and decides the sensitivity of the body to other hormones. The gland performs these activities by producing Thyroid hormone, which is essentially Thyroxin (T4) and triiodothyronine (T3), that regulate the rate of metabolism and affect the growth and rate of functioning of other organs. Iodine is the essential content of both T4 and T3.

Types

Hyperthyroidism - or overactive thyroid- is a condition resulting from over-secretion of the Thyroid hormones. This results in overactive height growth and increased speed of all the organs in the body and the intestines. The effect is quite the opposite if the gland secretes less than adequate amount of the hormones, a condition termed 'Hypothyroidism' -or insufficient secretion of the Thyroid hormone.

Hypothyroidism is considered to be the most common thyroid condition. In developing countries, this is caused due to iodine deficiency. In India, around 4.2 crore people are believed to suffer from Thyroid diseases. The problem is prevalent in women above 40 years of age.

Silent tormenter

Dr Jayakumar called Thyroid diseases a silent problem, the effects of which can be difficult to treat if allowed to advance. While it can cause problems in mental development in children, several other conditions including infertility can affect the adults if Thyroid diseases are left untreated.  "The problem is one of acute lack of awareness," Dr Jayakumar said. "Despite Hypothyroidism being so common a condition, people are not quite aware about it. This is the reason why we wanted to talk about it more and make sure people go to the doctors at the right time."

He also said some years ago, diagnosing thyroid conditions remained a problem, as testing blood samples for excess or insufficient Thyroid hormones -A practice discovered in the early 1970's and arrived on Indian shores in the 1980's- was available only in a few cities like Delhi or Chandigarh.

But now, with advancements in computer technology and proliferation of diagnostic centres like 'Thyrocare' across the country, he said diagnosing Thyroid diseases are now available even in small towns. Though a person may have to spend up to Rs 300 for the diagnosis, he said treatment would cause not more than one-rupee a day.

Diagnosis during childhood will almost prevent any effects of Thyroid diseases, but saving a person from the disease in adulthood would solely depend on diagnosing and treating the disease at an early stage. Dr Jayakumar also mentioned that scientists are still unsure why women are more susceptible to the disease. As part of the ‘Thyroid month’, the Indian Thyroid Society conducted many camps to screen people. Since most people approach general physicians for treatment, the society is also planning to work closely with them.