What happens if tsh level increases

TSH is involved in the weight of children as well. Obese and overweight children have higher TSH levels, and these high levels are linked to increases in cholesterol, fat, and blood pressure [ 17 ]. Radiation therapy in the head and neck area can damage the thyroid gland and thereby cause hypothyroidism.

This, in turn, increases TSH levels [ 18 ]. Although rare, tumors of the pituitary gland can sometimes produce and release excessive amounts of TSH [ 19 , 20 ]. Certain rare genetic disorders can result in elevated TSH levels [ 36 ]. TSH levels normally increase as we age [ 37 ].

High TSH is commonly caused by hypothyroidism low thyroid hormone levels , in which case a person may experience:. However, high TSH can also be caused by conditions other than hypothyroidism, in which case symptoms will vary depending on the underlying condition. A study with over 30k people revealed that people with higher TSH levels tended to also have higher blood pressure [ 45 ]. TSH has also been linked to high blood pressure in children, especially in overweight children [ 17 ].

A meta-analysis of data from over 55k patients found that people with very high TSH levels had a higher chance of developing and dying from heart disease [ 46 ]. Various studies including a meta-analysis have found that having a high TSH level may be a risk factor for developing thyroid cancer [ 50 , 51 , 52 , 53 ]. A study showed that higher TSH levels were correlated with faster cancer progression in patients with a specific type of thyroid cancer papillary thyroid microcarcinoma [ 54 ].

There were also age differences noted among groups. Perhaps normal TSH reference levels for a population will need to be defined better in the future. TSH: thyroid stimulating hormone — produced by the pituitary gland that regulates thyroid function; also the best screening test to determine if the thyroid is functioning normally.

Thyroxine T4 : the major hormone produced by the thyroid gland. Having said all of this, there's actually a good case to make that you can still have a "high" TSH but still be inside of the reference range. Well, newer studies 5 have shed light on the fact that some of the original tests that helped determine our "standard normal" TSH values may not have have been full of "healthy" people. When you are being compared to some standard you want to make sure that the standard you are being compared to is actually healthy!

It doesn't make sense to compare your TSH as a year-old to that of an year-old 6. Using this logic some newer studies have suggested that a more "normal" TSH reference range is somewhere between 1. With this logic you can have a "high" TSH anywhere between 2. In addition, other studies have suggested we use the African American population as the standard for TSH testing because they have one of the lowest rates of autoimmune disease compared to other populations and their TSH is somewhere around 1.

It's important to realize that many physicians are not aware of these studies or these concepts so they may use the "standard" laboratory reference range instead of these newer guidelines. An elevated TSH as defined by the reference ranges listed above is an indication that your body is working overtime to try and increase the amount of thyroid hormone that it can produce.

In most cases, your TSH is simply a warning sign that indicates your body is under stress and increased pressure.

That's why it's important to understand the potential causes because each of these causes has a different treatment. Probably the most common cause of slightly elevated and high TSH levels is an autoimmune disease known as Hashimoto's Thyroiditis. Hashimoto's thyroiditis is a condition where your body begins to attack its own thyroid gland, through an autoimmune process, which results in long-term and potentially permanent damage to your thyroid gland over time 8. As your thyroid gland becomes damaged the amount of thyroid hormone it produces will be reduced over time.

The good news is that diagnosing Hashimoto's thyroiditis is not very difficult and can be assessed by checking for thyroid antibodies in the serum. The presence of clinical thyroid damage symptoms combined with elevated antibodies is sufficient to diagnose the disease. If they are contributing to your TSH then your labs may look something like the example listed below:.

Identifying that you have Hashimoto's is important because it means you may be able to influence the course of the disease and reduce the autoimmune damage if you take steps as soon as possible. Note, though, that in some cases by the time the diagnosis is made it may be too late - there may already be permanent damage to your thyroid gland, especially if the autoimmune process has been going on for decades.

You can learn more about treating, identifying and managing Hashimoto's in this post. While overt iodine deficiency is no longer a huge issue in the United States, many people may still have what I refer to as "sub-optimal" iodine levels.

The main method that we get iodine is through our diets, but unfortunately, many factors may be influencing how much we actually get. For starters, many people simply aren't consuming enough iodine because they don't consume sea vegetables regularly.

This is worsened by the fact that the iodine concentration in the soil is dropping as well, so foods that would normally contain iodine may vary in their concentration. In addition, other factors such as the lack of utilization from goitrogens in certain foods may limit the activity of iodine that you do consume. Studies have shown that the average person should be consuming ug of iodine per day up to if you are lactating or pregnant 10 , while other studies show that the average consumption varies between ug per day Putting all this together you can make a case that many people simply may not be getting sufficient iodine even though we live in an iodine "replete" environment.

Iodine is required for the production of thyroid hormone in your body This will trigger a feedback loop which will result in an increase in TSH from your pituitary. The good news is that replacing iodine through dietary means will rapidly result in improvement in your thyroid function. You can learn more about using iodine safely and correctly in this detailed guide.

Most people assume that hypothyroidism low thyroid function causes obesity, but what they don't realize is that obesity can actually decrease thyroid function as well. The cause vs effect has not been settled but we will most likely find that while hypothyroidism can cause obesity, obesity can also reduce thyroid function and increase TSH. For starters, it means that if obesity is the cause of low thyroid function and therefore an elevated TSH it means that if you lose weight you will improve your thyroid status.

Another important implication of the obesity-thyroid connection is that due to the widespread increase in obesity we may need to alter TSH reference ranges But if obesity causes hypothyroidism then that means we need to create a "normal" TSH based on the reference ranges of people that have a normal body weight and who do NOT have Hashimoto's thyroiditis.

Obesity, weight gain, and metabolic damage may all potentially increase your TSH and lead to hypothyroidism. Cortisol is considered our stress hormone which is released to help our body "tolerate" excessively stressful situations.

Stressful situations range from lack of sleep to social pressure from jobs and back to the food we put in our body. The idea here is that all of these factors influence this stress hormone and may result in chronic elevations in serum cortisol.

High cortisol is positively correlated with TSH levels in the serum In my experience, I tend to lean more to the pathologic side as patients with both high TSH and high cortisol exhibit higher rates of depression, anxiety, and poor cognitive function.

These symptoms lead me to believe that stress, excessive stress which is chronic in nature, most likely results in an increased TSH which reduces thyroid function in the body. The treatment for this condition is to focus on limiting the impact that stress has on your physiology by taking targeted supplements and practicing specific therapies.

You can learn more about addressing cortisol to improve thyroid function here. It makes sense that if you damage your thyroid gland or completely remove it that you won't be producing as much thyroid hormone as you were before. Most people who undergo complete thyroidectomy meaning complete removal of their thyroid gland are given thyroid medication right away. The same is not necessarily true for those who have only had a portion or partial thyroidectomy partial removal of their thyroid gland.

Your body needs iodine to create adequate levels of T3 and T4 hormones. TSH stands for thyroid stimulating hormone and is a hormone secreted by the pituitary gland in your brain.

As its name implies, TSH directly affects the thyroid to produce thyroid hormones. The book Clinical Methods says that high TSH levels usually indicate hypothyroidism or an underactive thyroid. TSH levels will be elevated above the normal reference range to try and stimulate the thyroid to produce more hormones.

Doctors arrange for TSH blood tests to monitor thyroid hormone replacement therapy, screen for thyroid issues in newborns, or diagnose signs of hypothyroidism. Triiodothyronine is usually referred to as T3 and is one of the hormones that the thyroid secretes. Doctors from the American Association for Clinical Chemistry say that T3 is more active than the more abundant T4 and is a powerful thyroid hormone in the body.

Free T3 FT3 is the amount of triiodothyronine that is not bound to protein and can still be used by the body. Thyroxine is referred to as T4 and is the main hormone that the thyroid secretes. When T4 in the blood binds to proteins, it becomes T3. Doctors say that blood tests to check if T4 levels are in the normal range are done to test thyroid function. Often, a T4 test is done together with checking for high TSH if a person shows symptoms of hypothyroidism. The amount of T3 and T4 in blood serum directly affects levels of TSH that the pituitary gland produces.

The journal Endocrinology says that there is a negative feedback loop that signals to the pituitary gland to produce more or less TSH. This is why an underactive thyroid gland is associated with TSH levels above the normal reference range. What is the normal range of thyroid-stimulating hormone?

Alina G. However, the normal TSH range also varies depending on age and if a woman is pregnant or not. For example, Dr. Sofronescu says that for an elderly person, anything up to 8. Women in their third trimester of pregnancy could expect to see TSH levels to rise to 5. However, some doctors recommend a much lower cut-off point for high TSH levels.

Some doctors say that even though normal TSH levels could be as high as 4. The normal reference range for the concentration of TSH levels in blood serum is between 0.

If you have high TSH of over 4. However, as already mentioned, some doctors say that anything over 2. The effects of high TSH will show many symptoms that are associated with hypothyroidism or an underactive thyroid gland. It is important to get symptoms of an underactive thyroid treated because if left unchecked, hypothyroidism can cause complications like:. This usually results in blood tests showing low T3 and T4 in blood serum. One of the most common causes of hypothyroidism that causes TSH levels to shoot up is an autoimmune condition.