What Is Hashimoto's?
8. Occurrence
Of autoimmune diseases that affect specific organs, autoimmune thyroid disorders are the most common. They affect 5-15% of women and 1-5% of men in the United States. Some people are born with hypothyroidism, while some develop it later in life. Iodine deficiency is thought to contribute to hypothyroidism’s prevalence in some parts of the world.
In the U.S. and other countries with sufficient dietary iodine intake, most cases of hypothyroidism after age 6 are due to Hashimoto’s disease. Worldwide, experts believe it to occur in 0.3-1.5 people in every thousand. Many additional cases, however, probably go undiagnosed.
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