Causes and Consequences of Thyroid Dysfunction throughout Life: a population-based and genetic approach

Abstract

Adequate thyroid hormone (TH) levels are essential for normal growth and differentiation, for the regulation of energy metabolism, and for the physiological function of virtually all human tissues. This is illustrated by the well-known effects of hypo- and hyperthyroidism. In addition, more recent studies show that also minor variation in serum TH levels, even within the normal range, can have important effects on clinical endpoints, such as bone mineral density, atrial fibrillation, metabolic syndrome (3) and cardiovascular mortality.