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A goitre, or goiter, is a swelling in the neck resulting from an enlarged thyroid gland. [1] [2] A goitre can be associated with a thyroid that is not functioning properly. Worldwide, over 90% of goitre cases are caused by iodine deficiency. [3] The term is from the Latin gutturia, meaning throat.
Iodine deficiency causes gradual enlargement of the thyroid gland, referred to as a goiter. Poor length growth is apparent as early as the first year of life. Adult stature without treatment ranges from 100 to 160 cm (3 ft 3 in to 5 ft 3 in), depending on severity, sex, and other genetic factors.
Before 1950 goiter was a widespread disease caused by iodine deficiency. [40] Up to 80 percent of the population were affected in inland areas. In the coastal communities, saltwater fish were an important part of the diet, and because of the presence of iodine in seawater, goiter was less common than in the inland districts.
A goiter is a diffuse, often symmetric, swelling of the thyroid gland visible in the anterior neck that may develop. [13] The thyroid gland may become firm, large, and lobulated in Hashimoto's thyroiditis, but changes in the thyroid can also be non- palpable . [ 14 ]
Graves' disease, also known as toxic diffuse goiter or Basedow’s disease, is an autoimmune disease that affects the thyroid. [1] It frequently results in and is the most common cause of hyperthyroidism . [ 5 ]
This latter occurs in 60 to 80 percent of patients with untreated hyperthyroidism. [10] Muscle weakness is rarely the chief complaint. The likelihood and degree of muscle weakness is correlated with the duration and severity of the hyperthyroid state, and becomes more likely after the age of 40.
Thyroid disease is a medical condition that affects the function of the thyroid gland.The thyroid gland is located at the front of the neck and produces thyroid hormones [1] that travel through the blood to help regulate many other organs, meaning that it is an endocrine organ.
Early attempts at titrating therapy for hypothyroidism proved difficult. After hypothyroidism was found to cause a lower basal metabolic rate, this was used as a marker to guide adjustments in therapy in the early 20th century (around 1915). [82] However, a low basal metabolic rate was known to be non-specific, also present in malnutrition. [82]