According to The American Thyroid Association (ATA), more than 12 percent of the U.S. population will develop a thyroid condition during their lifetime. A meta-analysis has also revealed a prevalence rate of thyroid dysfunction of about 7% among the adult population in Europe. One woman in eight will develop a thyroid disorder during her lifetime. It is clear that the cases of thyroid diseases are in the western developed countries are growing. Thyroid disease has severe impacts on quality of life. Therefore, it is necessary to understand the etiology and the pathological mechanisms of the diseases in both Western medical and Chinese medical points of view for today’s TCM practitioners.

The following topics will be discussed in this lecture:

• The 6 most common thyroid diseases, such as Hashimoto’s Disease, Graves’ disease, Goiter, Thyroid nodules, Thyroid cancer and Thyroid inflammation will be discussed.
• Today’s western life style and environmental factors, such as emotional stress, diets, medications, vitamin and mineral imbalances, and viral infection, and the development of the diseases will be analyzed.