Are thyroid conditions often undiagnosed?

A recent study known as the Colorado Thyroid Disease Prevalence Study, found that 13 million Americans may have undiagnosed thyroid conditions, and suggested that more widespread thyroid testing is needed. Among their findings are the fact that 9.9 percent of the population had a thyroid abnormality that had gone unrecognized. An underactive thyroid, hypothyroidism, affects more women than men, and the risk increases with age for both men and women. Clearly, there is a need for more widespread thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) testing and more aggressive treatment, especially for subclinical patients. Additionally, another study, called the NHANES study, showed that the reference ranges (for TSH) in most laboratories are too wide. Furthermore, relying on the TSH (being in the normal range) as the only way to define hypothyroidism may mean that still more millions are hypothyroid, but undiagnosed and overlooked.