Q. I was just wondering if you knew of any hereditary component to thyroid problems. Both my sister and I were diagnosed with hypothyroidism in high school and my dad was diagnosed with hyperthyroidism.
A. Yes, there is definitely a hereditary component to thyroid disease. Both the most common cause of hypothyroidism (Hashimoto’s) and the most common cause of hyperthyroidism (Graves) in the US have a tendency to run in families.
Hashimoto thyroiditis, an autoimmune disease characterized by gradual destruction of thyroid tissue, has a strong hereditary component. There is disease concordance in about 40% of monozygotic twins – and even asymptomatic siblings of affected patients often have circulating anti-thyroid antibodies! Certain polymorphisms in a couple genes in particular are associated with the development of Hashimoto disease; one is the cytotoxic T lymphocyte-associated antigen-4 (CTLA4) gene, and another is the protein tyrosine phosphatase-22 (PTPN2) gene. The CTLA4 gene product keeps a lid on T-cell responses; the PTPN22 gene product is a lymphoid tyrosine phosphatase that inhibits T-cell function. Other autoimmune diseases (like type 1 diabetes) are also associated with polymorphisms in these genes.
Graves disease, an autoimmune disease characterized by over-stimulation of the thyroid gland, also has a strong hereditary component. Its concordance rate in monozygotic twins is 30-40%. It is associated with the HLA-DR-3 allele, as well as the CLDA4 and PTPN2 genes mentioned above.
Other thyroid diseases run in families too: silent thyroiditis and goiter, for example. Sometimes, no specific cause can be found for thyroid problems (hypothyroidism in particular) – and even those cases seem to run in families.
it is nice….
thanks…
it helped me.
This was very helpful because I was just recently tested and told I have Hypothyroidism ,so does my older brother and my younger sister and her daughter and my oldest grand daughter. So I kinda thought it was ,so now I now why.thank you.
I hope you all get very good treatment and fell great again soon!
Kristine
I was diagnosed with Hashimoto hyperthyroidism,and now my oldest daughter is having trouble. Can a young woman who’s not had sex get this thyroid ceases .
Hi Dinah –
Yes – Hashimoto disease has nothing to do with sexual activity or a sexually transmitted disease. It is an autoimmune disease, and it has a hereditary component (it tends to run in families). It is also more common in women. Since you have the disease, your daughter has a higher than normal risk of getting it too.
My mother and both of my sisters have thyroid conditions. I have been tested twice and the results were negative. Is this unusual?
No – not really. Although some thyroid diseases are hereditary, they don’t always affect everyone in the family. You probably did not inherit the copy of your mom’s chromosome that has the related gene (or genes) on it – but your sister may have. You might just follow your thyroid levels (this is usually done by checking a TSH and sometimes also a T4 level) from time to time to make sure that your thyroid is working properly. Sounds like you may have just gotten lucky!