Peer Responses:

    Length: A minimum of 150 words per post, not including references
    Citations: At least one high-level scholarly reference in APA per post from within the last 5 years
    Citations need to be within 5 (Five)  years
    Context: Nursing in the USA
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Hypothyroidism also called under-reactive thyroid is the most common thyroid disease affecting about 4.6% of the USA population, 80% of which are women; indicating that the thyroid gland does not produce  enough thyroid hormones, which affect many of the body essential functions and processes such as metabolism, which results in a slow body processes (Felz, West, 2020).

To understand the pathophysiology of Hypothyroidism, it is important to know the process from which the thyroid hormones are produced. The hypothalamus secretes the thyroid releasing hormone to act on the pituitary gland, which in turns initiates the release of thyroid stimulating hormone, then the TSH acts on the thyroid gland to produce the thyroid hormones T3 and T4, both of which are regulated by a feedback mechanism under the control of TSH depending on if T3 and T4 increase or decrease (Felz, West, 2020). In addition, causative factors include Hashimotos thyroiditis (most common), Lithium, pregnancy, treatment for HYPERthyroidism, thyroid surgery, radiation therapy, age,  being a women, family history and other diseases such as Diabetes type 1 and autoimmune diseases (Felz, West, 2020). The signs and symptoms varies person to person, but most commonly, you feel cold, depressed, tired, lethargic, thin hair, weight gain, forgetfulness, frequent constipation, elevated liver enzymes, high LDLs, pain and swelling of the joint, heavy menstrual period, muscles weakness; and for infants and children include Jaundice, puffy eyes, constipation, frequent choking, delayed mental development and puberty, poor growth and is usually confirmed with TSH blood test ( ATA, 2017)

References:
American Thyroid Association. Hypothyroidism. p.1-4
Felz, M. W; West, V. (2020). The Clinical Advisor. Hypothyroidism: A case of fatigue, weight gain, and constipation. p.1-6