[{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https:\/\/thehomeground.asia\/destinations\/singapore\/hypothyroidism-caused-by-hashimotos-thyroiditis-is-more-common-than-you-think\/#NewsArticle","mainEntityOfPage":"https:\/\/thehomeground.asia\/destinations\/singapore\/hypothyroidism-caused-by-hashimotos-thyroiditis-is-more-common-than-you-think\/","headline":"Hypothyroidism caused by Hashimoto\u2019s thyroiditis is more common than you think","name":"Hypothyroidism caused by Hashimoto\u2019s thyroiditis is more common than you think","description":"Hashimoto\u2019s thyroiditis causes hypothyroidism and may sound ominous. But medical experts say the condition is actually not. That is, if it is treated and its management complied with. Named after Dr Haruku Hashimoto, it is an autoimmune disorder causing chronic inflammation of the thyroid gland.\u00a0 Hashimoto thyroiditis affects 5 in 100 people in the United […]","datePublished":"2022-09-25","dateModified":"2022-09-28","author":{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/thehomeground.asia\/author\/editor1\/#Person","name":"Judith Tan","url":"https:\/\/thehomeground.asia\/author\/editor1\/","identifier":57,"image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/thehomeground.asia\/wp-content\/uploads\/Judith-Tan-100x100.jpg","url":"https:\/\/thehomeground.asia\/wp-content\/uploads\/Judith-Tan-100x100.jpg","height":96,"width":96}},"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"TheHomeGround Asia","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/thehomeground.asia\/wp-content\/uploads\/photo_2021-07-22-222533.jpeg","url":"https:\/\/thehomeground.asia\/wp-content\/uploads\/photo_2021-07-22-222533.jpeg","width":640,"height":640}},"image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/thehomeground.asia\/wp-content\/uploads\/Feature-Image-Template-2022-09-25T111536165-1.jpg","url":"https:\/\/thehomeground.asia\/wp-content\/uploads\/Feature-Image-Template-2022-09-25T111536165-1.jpg","height":900,"width":1600},"url":"https:\/\/thehomeground.asia\/destinations\/singapore\/hypothyroidism-caused-by-hashimotos-thyroiditis-is-more-common-than-you-think\/","commentCount":"1","comment":[{"@type":"Comment","@id":"https:\/\/thehomeground.asia\/destinations\/singapore\/hypothyroidism-caused-by-hashimotos-thyroiditis-is-more-common-than-you-think\/#Comment1","dateCreated":"2026-06-16 11:18:02","description":"Great article. I learned several new things from this post. This will help many beginners.","author":{"@type":"Person","name":"Zachary Evans","url":"https:\/\/modele2lettres.com\/modele-lettre-protection-juridique-gratuit\/"}}],"about":["Health & Wellness","Local","Singapore"],"wordCount":1310,"keywords":["actress","Dr Chng Chiaw Ling","Dr Haruku Hashimoto","endocrinology","fat","fatshame","game streamer","Gigi Hadid","Hashimoto's thyroiditis","iodine","Julie Tan","Leonardo Dicaprio","Meghan O'Rourke","SGH","skinny","supermodel","thyroid gland"],"articleBody":"Hashimoto\u2019s thyroiditis causes hypothyroidism and may sound ominous. But medical experts say the condition is actually not. That is, if it is treated and its management complied with. Named after Dr Haruku Hashimoto, it is an autoimmune disorder causing chronic inflammation of the thyroid gland.\u00a0Hashimoto thyroiditis affects 5 in 100 people in the United States, \u201cbut the number of people who have Hashimoto\u2019s thyroiditis in Singapore is unknown\u201d. \u201cWe know it is more common in women than in men and more likely to develop in people who have other autoimmune conditions,\u201d says Dr Chng Chiaw Ling, a senior consultant with the Endocrinology department at the Singapore General Hospital (SGH).An estimated 5 to 10 per cent of Singapore’s population, or 1 in 10 residents here, is suspected to suffer from thyroid disorders, caused either by the over-function or under-function of the thyroid gland. Hashimoto\u2019s thyroiditis is the most common cause of hypothyroidism in developed countries like Singapore, where there is sufficient intake of iodine in the diet.\u00a0Dr Chng says the condition can go undetected in its early phase when it is mild and the patient may have little or no symptoms of hypothyroidism.\u00a0\u201cSince more people are going for health screening nowadays, which usually includes a blood test known as a thyroid function test, even mild hypothyroidism is detected through this test and the patient could be diagnosed earlier as a result,\u201d she says.Sudden, dramatic shift in overall healthThe thyroid produces hormones that are vital for the body to function and keeps the metabolism working well. This impacts the energy a person has throughout the day as well as ones\u2019 weight, and heart rate. A problem with the thyroid can affect the entire body, leading to severe health complications, if left unchecked.In hypothyroidism, the thyroid produces too few hormones, resulting in the slowing down of many body functions. If left untreated, it can harm the sufferer.Hashimoto’s thyroiditis can cause the thyroid to not make enough thyroid hormone. Symptoms may include an enlarged thyroid gland (goitre). (Graphic source: Cleveland Clinic)\u201cThe symptoms of hypothyroidism can sometimes be non-specific and may be experienced by otherwise normal individuals or mimic other conditions. The best way to diagnose hypothyroidism is by performing a blood test which measures your thyroid hormone levels, which are thyroxine (T4) and thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH), \u201d Dr Chng says. In hypothyroidism, the\u00a0T4 level will be low and the TSH level will be high,In approximately 95 percent of cases, hypothyroidism is due to a problem in the thyroid gland itself. The most common cause is Hashimoto\u2019s thyroiditis, an autoimmune disorder where your body\u2019s antibodies mistakenly attack your thyroid glands.\u00a0This results in an underactive thyroid where hormone production is significantly reduced. It happens more commonly among middle-aged women and may present as a goitre. The primary treatment is life-long thyroid hormone replacement.\u201cThe exact reason why this happens is unknown at this point, although genetic and environmental factors are thought to play a role in its pathogenesis. The condition is not congenital, but people with Hashimoto\u2019s thyroiditis often have family members who have thyroid diseases or other autoimmune diseases,\u201d Dr Chng says.To diagnose Hashimoto\u2019s thyroiditis, a blood test that measures anti-peroxidase antibody (anti-TPOAb) is performed and the level of this antibody is raised for this condition.Hashimoto\u2019s thyroiditis may be mild initially and takes years to progress. Over time the condition impairs the ability of the thyroid gland to produce hormones and eventually causing hypothyroidism. The symptoms include constant fatigue, dry skin, hair loss, constipation and weight gain.\u00a0Celebrities, writer with Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis and leading normal lives\u00a0Dr Chng says not everyone with Hashimoto\u2019s thyroiditis develops hypothyroidism and patients with normal thyroid function or very mild hypothyroidism may not require treatment.\u00a0\u201cMore severe hypothyroidism can interfere with the person\u2019s daily life and without treatment, overt hypothyroidism can result in mental health issues and impaired heart function. It can also cause pregnancy complications if untreated during pregnancy,\u201d she says.Rarely, severe hypothyroidism may result in a life threatening condition known as myxedema coma, which leads to decreased mental status, hypothermia, and the slowing of function in multiple organs.\u00a0Former actress Julie Tan regrets her willful ways of not taking her thyroid medication for half a year, causing her condition to flare. Tan suffers from Hashimoto’s thyroiditis, an autoimmune disorder. (Photo source: Today)Actress-turned-video game streamer Julie Tan, who suffers from Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis, experienced a flare up of her medical condition in 2016 when she was not conscientious in taking her medication for half a year.\u00a0\u00a0Revealing this to showbiz and lifestyle news portal 8Days then, Tan said that when she consulted her doctor, she was told her heart could have failed.The treatment of hypothyroidism is thyroxine replacement therapy given as a small pill daily. Dr Chng says the exact dose is determined by several factors such as age, severity of condition and a blood test known as thyroid function test which include both T4 and TSH levels.\u201cThere is no effective treatment specifically to reverse the chronic thyroid inflammation caused by Hashimoto\u2019s thyroiditis. When Hashimoto\u2019s thyroiditis results in overt hypothyroidism, it is usually permanent and treatment is life-long,\u201d she adds.American supermodel Gigi Hadid was fat-shamed at New York Fashion Week in 2015 and was later told she was too big for the Tommy Hilfiger runway (Photo source: Fustany.com)Also opening up about her condition the same year, American Model Gigi Hadid took to Twitter and Instagram after New York Fashion Week in 2015 to defend herself against critics who labelled her \u201ctoo curvy\u201d and \u201ctoo chunky\u201d for the runway.\u00a0But in 2018, the reverse happened. The supermodel, who is believed to be currently dating actor Leonardo DiCaprio, was criticised for being “too skinny”. She turned to social media yet again to respond. She acknowledged that her body has changed since she began modelling at the age of 17, before she was diagnosed with Hashimoto\u2019s disease.\u00a0In 2018, Gigi Hadid spent the weekend strutting New York Fashion Week catwalks for Prabal Gurung and Brandon Maxwell, turned to social media once again to shutdown her haters calling her too skinny. (Photo source: OK Magazine)\u201cThose of u who called me ‘too big for the industry’ were seeing inflammation & water retention due to that [condition]. \u2026 Over the last few years I\u2019ve been properly medicated to help symptoms including those, as well as extreme fatigue, metabolism issues, body\u2019s ability to retain heat, etc,\u201d she wrote on Twitter.Her plight made it to Insider, an American independent online newspaper.Another with Hashimoto\u2019s thyroiditis is New York Times bestselling author, poet, editor, and podcaster Meghan O\u2019Rourke. In a 2013 article in The New Yorker, she said, \u201cI got sick the way Hemingway says you go broke, \u2018gradually and then suddenly\u2019\u201d. She had been ill for a long time \u201cbefore any doctor I saw believed I had a disease\u201d. O’Rourke\u00a0even had to put up with brain fog, forgetting words or how to string a proper sentence.\u00a0She was finally diagnosed properly \u201cafter years of doctors implying as much\u2014that it was all in my head\u201d. According to the American Autoimmune Related Diseases Association (AARDA), it takes an average of nearly five years and five doctors before a sufferer is given the right diagnosis. \u201cPatients can end up consulting different specialists for different symptoms: a dermatologist, an endocrinologist, an immunologist, a neurologist, a rheumatologist,” O’Rourke wrote, adding that those with autoimmune diseases would like to see the establishment of clinical autoimmune centres, where a single doctor could oversee a patient\u2019s care, like that of a cancer centre.\u00a0RELATED:\u00a0 (Die)t Pills: The Dangers of Shortcuts to Weight LossJoin the conversations on TheHomeGround Asia\u2019s Facebook and Instagram, and get the latest updates via Telegram."},{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Destinations","item":"https:\/\/thehomeground.asia\/destinations\/#breadcrumbitem"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Singapore","item":"https:\/\/thehomeground.asia\/destinations\/\/singapore\/#breadcrumbitem"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Hypothyroidism caused by Hashimoto\u2019s thyroiditis is more common than you think","item":"https:\/\/thehomeground.asia\/destinations\/singapore\/hypothyroidism-caused-by-hashimotos-thyroiditis-is-more-common-than-you-think\/#breadcrumbitem"}]}]