Thyroid disorders explained

Women are more likely than men to suffer from thyroid problems, which can cause depression and tiredness

The thyroid is a butterfly-shaped gland you can feel at the base of your neck, just below your Adam's apple. Two lobes - the butterfly 'wings' - fit to either side of your windpipe. This gland is one of the most important in your body as one of the hormones it produces regulates the body's metabolism.

The thyroid gland is a manufacturing and storage facility for thyroid hormone, which is often referred to as the body's metabolic hormone. Among other actions, thyroid hormone stimulates enzymes that combine oxygen and glucose, a process that increases the basal metabolic rate and body heat production. Thyroid hormone also helps maintain blood pressure, regulates tissue growth and development, is critical for skeletal and nervous system development and plays an important role in the maturing of the reproductive system.

Women are five to ten times more likely than men to have thyroid dysfunction and some types of thyroid disease run in families. Although many women get thyroid disorders, doctors often fail to recognise it because the wide variety of symptoms are similiar to other illnesses.

Disorders of the thyroid