May 25th is World Thyroid Day (WTD), a special Day on the calendar dedicated to thyroid patients round the globe. It is a Day of respect towards the many millions of patients who suffer from a variety of disorders that cover a whole spectrum of disease, ranging from subclinical to overt hypothyroidism and hyperthyroidism, autoimmune thyroid diseases and thyroid cancer.
It is a Day of reflection on the factors causing thyroid disease, made up of the interplay of genetics and environmental factors that, by disrupting the thyroid, sooner or later can lead to the manifestation of the disease. For a full decade, the American Thyroid Association (ATA) together with the European Thyroid Association (ETA), the Latin American Thyroid Society (LATS) and the Asia Oceania Thyroid Association (AOTA), fully endorsing and supporting WTD, have called and continue to call for action on the part of all those who are involved in the care of thyroid patients.
This they do by, among many other activities, organizing and holding open-door events via which they will have direct access to patients everywhere as well as to local authorities, Town Halls and municipalities with the express aim of arousing and further increasing among them all the level of awareness and of education regarding thyroid diseases.
Surrounding and further supporting World Thyroid Day is International Awareness Thyroid Week (IATW).
Thus, a Day and a Week to highlight the importance of maintaining a healthy thyroid and thus better caring for the entirety of our health.
Wishing you all a successful 25th of May…and don’t forget to check your Thyroid!
Leonidas Duntas
Member of the Clinical Affairs Board of the ATA
