People who have recently been diagnosed with high cholesterol levels should also be screened for thyroid disease, as recent research suggests. In fact, by analyzing how thyroid problems and high cholesterol are linked to one another, you can get a better grasp of how to treat both conditions simultaneously, to lead a happy and healthy life.
The thyroid gland
You neck is home to your thyroid gland, a butterfly-shaped hormone generator responsible for growth and proper metabolic functions. With the help of the pituitary gland, which helps secrete a hormone that’s meant to stimulate the thyroid gland, your body gets the required number of hormones required for development, growth, keeping the organs healthy, and for putting you in a good mood.
The thyroid gland secretes two essential hormones: triiodothyronine (known as T3) and thyroxine (known as T4, and which is then converted by the body into T3).
Hyperthyroidism vs hypothyroidism
When you suffer from hyperthyroidism, your thyroid gland produces more T3 and T4 hormones that what your body actually needs. As a consequence, your body becomes hyperactive, leading to excess anxiety, sudden weight loss but increased appetite, causes your heart to beat faster, and making you more sensitive to heat.
What actually occurs is that your thyroid becomes irritated, and causes too many hormones to be released into the bloodstream.
Hypothyroidism, on the other hand, means that the thyroid gland isn’t making enough T3 and T4 hormones for your body to function at normal capacity. Since this controls your metabolism, the result is the entire body slowing down, leading to a number of different health complications.
Hypothyroidism doesn’t have a cure, but there are different types of medication that can treat it. What these meds actually do is they help regulate the thyroid’s function by restoring normal hormone levels and bringing them to normal.
Cholesterol and thyroid
Your body is unable to make cholesterol without using thyroid hormones. It also needs thyroid to get rid of excess cholesterol found in the body. When thyroid levels are low, your body can’t process LDL efficiently, which means it can’t eliminate it from the body.
Naturally, this causes higher levels of bad cholesterol to be present in the body, which leads to plaque formation, blood clots, heart attacks, heart disease, and stroke.
Thyroid problems can influence cholesterol in one of two ways:
- People who have been diagnosed with hypothyroidism are more likely to have abnormally high cholesterol levels compared to those without hypothyroidism.
- Hyperthyroidism has the exact opposite effect, causing total cholesterol levels to drop to abnormal intervals.
Thyroid disease treatment impact on cholesterol
According to a study conducted back in 2014, it seems that people diagnosed with hypothyroidism, as well as elevated cholesterol levels, can have their lipid levels regulated once treatment for thyroid is complete. More specifically, those who followed a treatment with levothyroxine didn’t require any cholesterol-lowering medication within a year from taking thyroid treatments.
Even so, there have been registered cases when cholesterol levels remain elevated even after taking thyroid disease treatments. In such a case, doctors will most likely make the dietary recommendations that are typical in such a scenario, but may also recommend cholesterol-lowering medication.
High cholesterol treatment: What is its impact on thyroid disease?
It’s not only thyroid medication that can have an impact on cholesterol; it goes the other way around as well. Cholesterol treatments can interact with thyroid disease in a number of different ways:
- People with high cholesterol levels who are taking a resin treatment can have these bile acid resins bind to levothyroxine, causing the body to fail to absorb it. To prevent this from happening, one should take resins four hours after having administered levothyroxine.
- Niacin is another drug used to improve HDL levels in patients with low levels of good cholesterol. However, one of the side effects of niacin in flushing, which is also a common symptom for hyperthyroidism. If this niacin side effect kicks in, it could lead people to believe that their levothyroxine dose is too high, causing an unnecessary dosage lowering.
- Different types of cholesterol lowering medications are known to cause muscle pain, which is more accentuated in people who also have hypothyroidism.
Thyroid disease and high cholesterol: Similar treatment paths
Lifestyle measures are recommended in both cases, and the most common ones that are applicable in both situations are:
- Watching your weight and adopting a healthy diet can help with thyroid disease, as well as lower your total cholesterol levels.
- Exercising on a regular basis can raise the energy levels of someone who has hypothyroidism, but also helps one lose weight and improve the good cholesterol levels in the body.
- Smoking is a bad habit that has a negative impact on both cholesterol and the thyroid gland.
The issue of undiagnosed hypothyroidism
Evidence strongly suggests that high cholesterol levels may return to normal by following a treatment for hypothyroidism, thus eliminating the need for cholesterol lowering medication. Sadly enough, there are few doctors who actually suspect the presence of hypothyroidism in patients who have high cholesterol levels in their blood.
Likewise, if your cholesterol levels start to improve without medical treatment or dietary changes, there are chances you could have hyperthyroidism.
Conclusion
According to the JAMA Internal Medicine study, people that have high cholesterol should also be screened for thyroid disease. The link between these two conditions is quite strong, and they can influence one another in many different ways. In some cases, you should take initiative, and if you have been diagnosed with one condition, ask your doctor to test you for the other one as well.
Sources & Links
- Photo courtesy of SteadyHealth