ATA, AACE develop new guidelines for diagnosis and treatment of hypothyroidism

New evidence-based guidelines have been released for the diagnosis and treatment of hypothyroidism, a complex disease caused by an underactive thyroid gland that cannot produce enough thyroid hormone. These updated clinical recommendations are published in Thyroid (http://www.liebertpub.com/thy), a peer-reviewed journal from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers (http://www.liebertpub.com). The new guidelines (http://online.liebertpub.com/doi/pdfplus/10.1089/thy.2012.0205), developed jointly by the American Thyroid Association (ATA) (http://www.thyroid.org) and American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists (AACE) (http://www.aace.com), are available free online on the Thyroid (http://www.liebertpub.com/thy) website.

A task force representing the ATA and AACE reviewed the medical literature and current standards of care and developed updated recommendations that are presented in the article by lead author Jeffrey R. Garber, MD, Harvard Vanguard Medical Associates and Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, MA, and colleagues.

"The members of the guidelines committee should be congratulated for providing a state-of-the-science update on the diagnosis and treatment of hypothyroidism, and for giving practitioners practical recommendations on how to manage this common clinical condition," says James A. Fagin, MD, president of the American Thyroid Association (ATA).

Charles H. Emerson, MD, Editor-in-Chief of Thyroid and Professor Emeritus of Medicine, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA, says "The guidelines address a wide-ranging number of issues that clinicians encounter in treating a disorder that affects millions of men worldwide and an even far greater number of women. They deal firmly with the problem of inappropriate thyroid hormone administration, both as it concerns individuals who should not be taking thyroid hormone, and patients with hypothyroidism who are given or self-administer suboptimal doses or dangerous formulations for their condition."