Anshula Ambasta, Guillaume Grenet, Jessica Otte, Wade Thompson, Kenneth Bassett, Thomas Perry
{"title":"Thyroid testing in primary hypothyroidism.","authors":"Anshula Ambasta, Guillaume Grenet, Jessica Otte, Wade Thompson, Kenneth Bassett, Thomas Perry","doi":"10.4102/phcfm.v17i1.5043","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Thyroid hormones regulate essential metabolic processes and development. The hypothalamic-pituitary-thyroid axis regulates hormone production, with thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) levels being a key indicator of thyroid function in primary hypothyroidism. This therapeutics letter emphasises a TSH-centred approach to the diagnosis and management of primary hypothyroidism (dysfunction at the level of the thyroid gland) in adults. It discourages routine thyroid function screening in asymptomatic individuals due to a lack of demonstrated benefit and potential harm from overdiagnosis and overtreatment. It outlines appropriate diagnostic strategies, including when to use TSH, free T4 (thyroxine), and free T3 (triiodothyronine) tests, and outlines indications for antibody testing. Special considerations are provided for subclinical hypothyroidism and hypothyroidism during pregnancy.</p>","PeriodicalId":47037,"journal":{"name":"African Journal of Primary Health Care & Family Medicine","volume":"17 1","pages":"e1-e4"},"PeriodicalIF":1.7000,"publicationDate":"2025-06-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12223887/pdf/","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"African Journal of Primary Health Care & Family Medicine","FirstCategoryId":"1085","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.4102/phcfm.v17i1.5043","RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":null,"ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q4","JCRName":"PRIMARY HEALTH CARE","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Thyroid hormones regulate essential metabolic processes and development. The hypothalamic-pituitary-thyroid axis regulates hormone production, with thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) levels being a key indicator of thyroid function in primary hypothyroidism. This therapeutics letter emphasises a TSH-centred approach to the diagnosis and management of primary hypothyroidism (dysfunction at the level of the thyroid gland) in adults. It discourages routine thyroid function screening in asymptomatic individuals due to a lack of demonstrated benefit and potential harm from overdiagnosis and overtreatment. It outlines appropriate diagnostic strategies, including when to use TSH, free T4 (thyroxine), and free T3 (triiodothyronine) tests, and outlines indications for antibody testing. Special considerations are provided for subclinical hypothyroidism and hypothyroidism during pregnancy.