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Heavy Metals and Thyroid

Meaning

Heavy Metals and Thyroid describes the clinically recognized phenomenon where chronic, low-level exposure to toxic heavy metals, including lead, mercury, cadmium, and arsenic, acts as an endocrine disruptor, interfering with the normal physiological function of the thyroid axis. These environmental contaminants can impair the thyroid gland’s ability to synthesize and secrete hormones and can also interfere with the peripheral metabolism and receptor binding of active thyroid hormones. Exposure to these metals is considered a non-classical, yet significant, risk factor for both overt and subclinical thyroid dysfunction.