are thyroid problems heredity,i'm thinking of m... - Thyroid UK
are thyroid problems heredity,i'm thinking of my children?.
Hi,
I believe that hashimotos is, I'm sure someone will correct if not. I have just been diagnosed and based on my TPO ab result I asked for my mum to be tested, she has also come back as underactive. I know that's not the question you asked but it does show a hereditary link.
Now I can see very mild signs/symptoms in my own kids and will asked for them to be tested if need be.
Hope it helps
Hi yes i think it is my dad,brother and niece have it thinking my daughter may have it so mite have to get her tested for it,hope not, not very nice having this and not easy to control.
There is clearly some level of heredity. But like everything else in the wonderful world of the thyroid, it ain't simple!
It is very, very difficult to separate out the simpler levels of genetic inheritance from some aspects of the environment.
Thyroid Manager says this:
Genetic Predisposition
A role of heredity in AITD is clearly demonstrated by family studies. The role of heredity in AITD is clear, since there is an increased frequency of AITD among family members, first degree relatives, and twins of patients with the illness. Indeed a recent careful analysis of concordance in Danish twins with Graves’ disease came up with the estimate that 79% of the liability for this disorder was attributable to genetic factors. A recent study from the USA has found similar concordance rates for Graves’ disease as in this Danish study, while among the unaffected monozygotic twins of the patients with Graves’ disease, 17% had chronic thyroiditis, while 10% had pernicious anemia or other autoimmune disorders. In an investigation of the relatives of a group of propositi with high circulating antibody levels and clinical thyroid disease, approximately half of the siblings and parents (first order relatives) were found to have significant titers of thyroid antibodies, many being without clinical thyroid disease but the transmission of thyroid autoantibodies is a more complex trait than the dominant inheritance originally thought.
thyroidmanager.org/chapter/...
A new paper on PLoS suggests that exposure to certain plastics might affect not only the person directly exposed, but their offspring, and possibly further. So, in some cases, it could as if it were genetic but actually be environmental.
plosone.org/article/info%3A...
My feeling is that, for now, all we can do is pass on the awareness of the possibility. Thus, hopefully, preventing thyroid disorders being missed due to ignorance.
Rod
Hi Rod - thanks for this info. My hypothyroidism doesn't appear to be autoimmune (no TPO or Tg antibodies). What are your thoughts on whether my children (2 girls) are at a higher risk of developping a similar problem? Sorry to put you on the spot 
On the plastics front - I used to have a very bad habbit of chewing my Liquifilm Tears plastic single use eye drop containers (sorry horrible habbit) - I have always wondered if this could have been the cause of my thyroid failure - what do you think? I don't do this anymore.
Thanks,
Clare
I am rather in the same spot as you - hypo without any obvious explanation.
My take is that whatever caused your hypo could have a hereditary element so the important thing is your (and their) awareness of the possibility. So that if either/both have any signs or symptoms then it can be identified and treated without delay.
I suspect that the Liquifilm SDU things are very pure polythene and therefore are unlike to be sources of BPA, etc. There again, what do I know?
Whatever else, you absolutely must not blame yourself - which is what it could sound like. Most certainly, if it were the cause, then you would not have chewed had you known the consequences. You didn't. Probably, couldn't. So, not guilty, m'lud.
The female side of my family have the same symptoms as I have, but in varying degrees of severity.
I'm quite estranged from them all so wasn't aware of their individual disabilities until my husband and I started fighting for custody of our 4 year old nephew who has severe autism and is in care awaiting adoption out of his bloodline.
We all came together to fight to keep him, we lost as we all have the 'same' disorder symptomologies.
We all started comparing notes on our probable 'mental health disorders' as well as the fibromyalgia and migraine, hot flush, hair loss, bug eyes, palpitations...
But anxiety/generic mental health is not genetic per see, yes our DNA may have propensities towards weaker coping abilities under stress but individually we as a family can debunk this having experienced some highly stress inducing situations before and after disabilities began and not experiencing any notable changes in our conditions so to speak.
Not one of us has been fully tested for thyroid or adrenal conditions.
Not until now.x
I'm wondering if so many auto-immune illnesses have connections with an unhealthy gut lining and subsequent malabsorption problems and Leaky Gut Syndrome - could it be that we tend to pass on habits. In particular in the way we eat, cook and general lifestyle patterns.
I have Hashimotos but my two daughters - in their 40's - do not. My husband does so perhaps it's infectious !! x He is my second husband and not the Father of my girls - just thought I had better explain that one ! Also I do think that having some serious infections can bring on other problems. In my case it was TB in the Ileo-Caecal valve in my 20's.
Just a thought....
Hi there is a strong tendancy for thyroid disease to run in families but not always. Also it is unusual to find it in children . best to always be aware of it, symptoms usually become quite obvious in children to their mother. Try not to worry.
Jackie
Yes, thyroid problems are hereditary. I have Hypothyroiodism as did my Mother, my Grand-Mother and my Great-Grandmother. I found out about my Great-Grandmother when I was researching my family history. My Mother was diagnosed and took Thyrozine with no further problems, my Grand-Mother died of Mixadeoma (hope I have spelt that right!) which I found out on her death certificate. This I looked up and found it was the result of untreated Hypothyroidism. I also found that my Great-Grandmother died in a mental hospital from what was described on her notes as 'unnappropriate laughter and strange moods. This apparentl;y is the extreme when the Hypothyroidism is not treated. She presumably went through the stages her Mother had experienced and ended up this way. I am assuming that Thyroid problems were not recognised at this time. This shows how far we have come at least and hopefullt more will be discovered so that we all benefit. I just thought this may be of interest.
Kavidacat, through m my family tree research, I too have uncovered a whole history of thyroid problems in my family. Great-grandmother had Graves disease (we have a lovely portrait of her with classic Graves eyes and goitre) and eventually her thyroid failed altogether causing her to be quite hefty when she died. EVERY woman, including my mother, my mother's sister and my aunt, who descended from her has gone on to eventually develop hypothyroidism. To date, every female cousin and their offspring has thyroid issues.
Interestingly my great-grandmother had 2 aunts who had mental health problems. My cousin obtained the records for one from the lunatic asylum and her symptoms sound so very similar to the mania caused by an acute overactive thyroid. The notes describe her drastic weightloss and described how she was literally crawling the walls and failing to sleep for days on end. Fortunately she did recover and went on to lead a normal life until she simply dropped dead riding a bicycle when she was still quite a young woman. :o(
The male decendants seem to escape thyroid problems though have heart problems instead. I'm sure it is connected.
Pernicious Anaemia seems to develop in our family, though it is less prolific than thyroid problems.
So far my half-sister and my daughter seem to be OK, though they are both younger than the rest of us were when our thyroids started to play up.
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