Thyroid and menopause: caution

Thyroid function is critical during every stage of life  but is especially vulnerable at menopause. As this paper from the journal of the International Society of Gynecological Endocrinology states: "The symptoms of thyroid disease can be similar to postmenopausal complaints and are clinically difficult to differentiate...It is of importance that even mild thyroid failure can have a number of clinical effects such as depression, memory loss, cognitive impairment and a variety of neuromuscular complaints...There is also an increased cardiovascular risk." Inadequate assessment and calibration of estrogen support is another menopausal hazard for the thyroid as this research concludes: "Low estrogen level may lead to mild thyroidal hypofunction while estradiol treatment may lead to hyperactivity so it should be used very cautiously in the treatment of postmenopausal symptoms to avoid its undesirable stimulatory effect on the thyroid."