Endemic goiter is not really the result of a malfunctioning thyroid gland. What does cause it?
Endemic goiter is not really the result of a malfunctioning thyroid gland. What does cause it?
Goiter is the term that describes the increase in size of the thyroid gland. Endemic goiter occurs when more than 10% of the population of a particular is affected by the goiter enlargement.
Endemic goiter is a result of iodine deficiency. It occurs in the areas where the soil has a very low content of iodine, and thus the optimum requirements of iodine are not met by food and water. Hence, the content of iodine in the body becomes very low than what is supposed to be. There is no supply of iodized salts also.
The thyroid gland requires iodine for producing the thyroid hormone. Thus, due to the deficiency of iodine, the synthesis of thyroid hormones is affected. As a result, the thyroid gland increases its size and volume to balance the amount of thyroid hormone in the body. The number and size of the epithelial cells in the thyroid gland increase, which enlarges the thyroid gland.
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