Hypothyroidism - Highlights

Hypothyroidism�s Effect on Other Conditions

Heart disease. Subclinical (early-stage) hypothyroidism may increase the risk for coronary artery disease. According to research presented at the American Thyroid Association annual meeting, patients with subclinical hypothyroidism have higher cholesterol levels and are twice as likely to develop heart disease as patients with normal thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) levels.
Breast cancer. Women with hypothyroidism may be less likely to get breast cancer than women with normal thyroid function, researchers report in the journal Cancer. If women with hypothyroidism do develop breast cancer, it is usually a less aggressive and more treatable form.
Joint stiffness. Women with higher TSH levels (a sign of hypothyroidism) seem less likely to experience joint stiffness and other musculoskeletal problems than women with normal TSH levels, suggests a 2005 study published in the journal Pain. The researchers theorize that TSH may affect pain perception.

Medications

Combined T3 and T4 drug products do not work better than T4 alone. However, patients seem to prefer combination therapy to single therapy. Several 2005 studies investigated clinical outcomes and patient satisfaction with combined thyroid drugs. Researchers are not sure why patients preferred the combination. It may be that the T3/T4 combination stimulated more weight loss, or that patients responded to a placebo effect. In general, T4 alone is the standard treatment for hypothyroidism.
A higher starting dose of levothyroxine (Synthroid) may be safe and effective for patients with heart disease. Patients with heart disease and hypothyroidism are sometimes started on an extremely low dose (12.5 micrograms/day) of the T4 drug. According to a 2005 study published in the Archives of Internal Medicine, a higher starting dose (25 micrograms/day) is safe, and may help patients achieve normal thyroid levels more quickly than the lower dose.