Hormonal Conditions A-Z

A hormone is a chemical substance produced in the body that controls and regulates the activity of certain cells or organs. Hormones play a large role in everyone’s daily health and well-being. The following is a brief list and description of a number of hormonal conditions.

 

Acromegaly

Acromegaly is a rare but serious condition caused by growth hormone excess and affects children and adults differently. Each year, about three new cases of acromegaly occur for every million people. 

 

Adrenal Fatigue

Supporters of adrenal fatigue believe the problem begins when many different life stresses become too much for the body to handle. 

 

Adrenal Incidentaloma

An adrenal incidentaloma is an unsuspected tumor in one or both of your adrenal glands. 

 

Adrenal Insufficiency

This rare condition should not be confused with adrenal fatigue (which is not a true medical condition).  Adrenal insufficiency, like Addison’s disease, is a disorder that occurs when the adrenal glands don’t make enough of certain hormones

 

Ambiguous Genitalia

Ambiguous genitalia is a rare condition in which an infant’s external genitals don’t appear to be clearly either male or female. 

 

Amenorrhea

Amenorrhea is the term used when a woman or adolescent girl is not having menstrual periods, and is also the sign of another medical condition. 

 

Breast Cancer and Bone Loss

Certain treatments for breast cancer can lead to bone loss because they decrease estrogen, the main female hormone. 

 

Cancer

Hormonal imbalances caused by abnormal cell growth or toxins can lead to serious health problems and sometimes even cancer. 

 

Cardiometabolic Risk

People with type 2 diabetes, prediabetes, and metabolic syndrome are at greater risk for heart and stroke. If you have one you are likely to have others. 

 

Congenital Adrenal Hyperplasia

Congenital Adrenal Hyperplasia is an inherited disorder in which the two adrenal glands do not function properly because of mutations in the gene. 

 

Congenital Hypothyroidism

About 1 in every 2,000 to 4,000 babies are born with congenital hypothyroidism. Newborn babies who are unable to make enough thyroid hormone have congenital hypothyroidism. 

 

Cushing Syndrome

Cushing syndrome consists of the physical and mental changes that result from having too much cortisol in the blood for a long period of time. 

 

Decreased Libido

Don’t have the desire to engage in sexual activity like you used too? About 5% of men have decreased libido, a condition that increases with age. 

 

Delayed Puberty

Delayed puberty is when children develop later than their peers. 

 

Diabetes

Diabetes is a disease in which your blood glucose, or blood sugar, levels are too high. Glucose comes from the foods you eat. Insulin is a hormone that helps the glucose get into your cells to give them energy.

 

Diabetes Insipidus

Diabetes insipidus, also called DI, is a rare condition that leads to frequent urination (passing a lot of clear, urine) and excessive thirst.

 

Diabetes and Heart Disease

People with diabetes are more likely to develop heart disease than people who do not have diabetes. An estimated 33% of adults aged 65 or older have diabetes.

 

Diabetic Neuropathy

Diabetic neuropathy is nerve damage from high blood glucose (sugar) levels in people with diabetes. Keeping your glucose levels in the target range will greatly lower your chances of developing long-term complications. 

 

Diabetic Retinopathy

Diabetic retinopathy is a complication of diabetes where high blood glucose causes damage to the blood vessels in the light-sensitive part of the back part of the eye. More than 80% of people who have had diabetes 20 years or longer develop diabetic retinopathy. 

 

Endometriosis

Endometriosis is a condition in which the tissue usually found inside the uterus grows in places where it shouldn’t. 

 

Erectile Dysfunction

Erectile dysfunction (ED) can happen at any age but is more common in men older than 65. If ED occurs often, medical treatment may help. 

 

Familial Chylomicronemia Syndrome

Familial chylomicronemia syndrome (FCS) is a rare, life-threatening disease that prevents the body from digesting fats. 

 

Gestational Diabetes

Gestational diabetes affects about 4–8 of every 100 pregnant women in the United States. Any pregnant woman can develop the condition, but some women are at greater risk than others. 

 

Glucocorticoid Induced Osteoporosis

Glucocorticoid-induced osteoporosis (GIO) is a condition in which people who take medicines called glucocorticoids develop osteoporosis or a weakening of the bones. 

 

Goiter

When your thyroid gland is enlarged, it can produce too much, too little, or just enough thyroid hormone. 

 

Graves Disease

Graves Disease is an autoimmune disorder that causes hyperthyroidism, or overactive thyroid. With this disease, your immune system attacks the thyroid and causes it to make more thyroid hormone than your body needs. Graves is more common in women between age 20 and 50, who often have a family history of thyroid disease. 

 

Growth Hormone Deficiency

A growth hormone deficiency (GHD) occurs when the pituitary gland doesn’t produce enough growth hormone. It more commonly affects children than adults. GHD occurs in roughly 1 in 7,000 births. The condition is also a symptom of several genetic diseases, including Turner syndrome and Prader-Willi syndrome.

 

Gynecomastia

Gynecomastia is breast enlargement in boys or men. This condition results from an imbalance between the hormones testosterone and estrogen. 

 

Hashimoto Disease

Hashimoto Disease is a condition in which your immune system attacks your thyroid, a small gland at the base of your neck below your Adam’s apple. Inflammation from Hashimoto’s disease, also known as chronic lymphocytic thyroiditis, often leads to an underactive thyroid gland.

 

Hirsutism

Excessive unwanted hair growth in women can be uncomfortable and is usually linked to an underlying endocrine disorder called hirsutism. Hirsutism is very common, affecting 5% – 10% of all women. 

 

Hypercalcemia

People with high blood calcium who have above-normal levels of calcium in their blood. 

 

Hyperlipidemia

Hyperlipidemia means there are high levels of fats in the blood. When they are too high, these fats can put people at risk for heart disease and stroke. 

 

Hyperprolactinemia

High levels of prolactin which can produce unwanted effects in men and women. 

 

Hypertension

Hypertension is when a patient has high blood pressure. Over 50 million adults in the United States have high blood pressure and it is the leading cause of cardiovascular disease. 

 

Hyperthyroidism

Hyperthyroidism is a condition in which the thyroid gland is overactive and produces too much thyroid hormone. If left untreated, hyperthyroidism can lead to other health problems. 

 

Hyperthyroidism and Pregnancy

Thyroid dysfunction can start during or after pregnancy in women who never had thyroid problems before. This occurs because pregnancy causes major changes in the levels of hormones made in the thyroid gland. 

 

Hypoglycemia

Hypoglycemia is the term for low blood glucose. People living with diabetes must monitor blood sugar often to keep it in a target range. 

 

Hypoparathyroidism

Hypoparathyroidism is a rare condition in which you don’t have enough parathyroid hormone (PTH) causing your body to secrete low levels of calcium in the blood. 

 

Hypopituitarism

Hypopituitarism (also called pituitary insufficiency) is a rare condition in which your pituitary gland doesn’t make enough of certain hormones. 

 

Hypothyroidism

Hypothyroidism is the most common thyroid disorder. It occurs when your thyroid gland is under active. 

 

Hypothyroidism and Pregnancy

Hypothyroidism during pregnancy is not common. However, the symptoms can be overlooked because some mimic the hormonal changes of a normal pregnancy, such as tiredness and weight gain. 

 

Infertility in Females

An inability to get pregnant. About 35% to 40% of infertility cases are due to female infertility, but male infertility is a factor in 40%. 

 

Infertility in Males

An inability to get pregnant. Infertility problems in the male partner affect about 40 percent of infertile couples. 

 

Kidney Disease

A condition characterized by a gradual loss of kidney function over time. Diabetes is the most common cause of kidney failure. Keeping your glucose levels in the target range will greatly lower your chances of developing long-term complications. 

 

Klinefelter Syndrome

Klinefelter syndrome is one of the most common chromosomal disorders, affecting 1/500 to 1/1,000 newborn males. Klinefelter is also known as 47,XXY or XXY, is the set of symptoms that result from two or more X chromosomes in males. The primary features are infertility and small testicles.

 

Low Testosterone

Testosterone is the most important sex hormone in men. Testosterone plays a key role in the development of male reproductive tissues such as testes and prostate, as well as promoting secondary sexual characteristics such as increased muscle and bone mass, and the growth of body hair. Low testosterone comes with age with a higher prevalence in older men, obese men, and men with type 2 diabetes. 

 

Menopause

Menopause is the time in a woman’s life when her period stops. It usually occurs naturally, most often after age 45. Menopause happens because the woman’s ovaries stop producing the hormones estrogen and progesterone. A woman has reached menopause when she has not had a period for one year. 

 

Metabolic Syndrome

Metabolic syndrome describes a cluster of risk factors that increase the chances of developing heart disease, stroke, and diabetes. 

 

Monogenic Diabetes

Monogenic diabetes is the least common form of diabetes. It is developed as a result of single gene mutations. Monogenic diabetes appears in several forms and most often affects young people. 

 

Non Diabetic Hypoglycemia

Non-diabetic hypoglycemia is low blood glucose in people who do not have diabetes. 

 

Osteoporosis

Osteoporosis is a progressive condition in which bones become structurally weak and are more likely to fracture or break. Learn more about the effects of this “silent disease” as well as the risk factors, prevention and treatment options.

 

PMS and PMDD

PMS is a combination of symptoms that many women get about a week or two before their period. Most women, over 90%, say they get some premenstrual symptoms, such as bloating, headaches, and moodiness. Premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD) is a more severe form of PMS, affecting about 3 to 6 percent of women. 

 

Pituitary Tumors

Pituitary tumors are abnormal growths in the pituitary gland. 

 

Pituitary Tumors Non Functioning

Three types of non-secretory tumors are non-functioning adenomas, craniopharyingiomas, and Rathke’s cleft cysts. 

 

Polycystic Ovary Syndrome PCOS

Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is a hormone disorder affecting 7–10% of women of childbearing age and is the most common cause of infertility. 

 

Post Menopause and Osteoporosis

Preventing bone loss is an important concern for women in the menopause stages and during post-menopausal stages.

 

Precocious Early Puberty

Many children who go through puberty early or late have other family members who went through puberty early or late. 

 

Pregnancy and Thyroid Disease

Postpartum thyroiditis is an inflammation of the thyroid gland that occurs after pregnancy affecting five to ten out of every 100 women. 

 

Primary Aldosteronism

When the increase of aldosterone causes a problem in your adrenal glands, the condition is called primary aldosteronism. 

 

Primary Hyperparathyroidism

Primary hyperparathyroidism (PHPT) is a condition in which, most commonly, an overactive parathyroid gland makes too much PTH. 

 

Primary Ovarian Insufficiency

Primary Ovarian Insufficiency, also known as premature ovarian failure, happens when a woman’s ovaries stop working normally before she is 40. Many women naturally experience reduced fertility when they are about 40 years old. They may start getting irregular menstrual periods as they transition to menopause.

 

Prostate Enlargement

As men age, it’s common for the prostate to get larger, called benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH). 

 

Puberty

Puberty is a natural part of development when a child’s body develops and matures going through physical changes as they transition into adulthood. 

 

Thyroid Cancer

Many people have nodules on the thyroid, and over 90% of those nodules are not cancerous. 

 

Thyroid Nodules

Thyroid nodules are very common and often not harmful or cancerous.

 

Thyroid Nodules and Pregnancy

Thyroid nodules are very common and occur more often in women than men. Pregnancy causes major changes in the levels of hormones made in the thyroid gland. 

 

Triglycerides

Triglycerides, a type of fat in the blood, are an important source of energy. When you eat, your body converts any calories it doesn’t need to use right away into triglycerides. 

 

Turner Syndrome

A chromosomal disorder in which a female is born with only one X chromosome. Turner syndrome occurs in about 1 in 2,000 female births worldwide. 

 

Type 1 Diabetes

Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune disease in which the immune system destroys the insulin produced in the pancreas.

 

Type 2 Diabetes

With type 2 diabetes, the body either doesn’t produce enough insulin, or it resists insulin. Symptoms include increased thirst, frequent urination, hunger, fatigue, and blurred vision. In some cases, there may be no symptoms. Type 2 diabetes accounts for about 90% to 95% of all diabetes cases. 

 

Vaginal Atrophy

Vaginal atrophy is a condition in which the lining of the vagina becomes thinner and drier.

 

Vitamin D and Calcium

Bone is a living tissue that is constantly breaking down and being replaced. Throughout life, your body balances the loss of bone with the creation of new bone. Vitamin D and calcium impact bone loss and hormone health.

 

Wilson’s Temperature Syndrome

Wilson’s Temperature Syndrome, also called Wilson’s thyroid syndrome or WTS, is an alternative medicine concept which attributes various common and non-specific symptoms to low body temperature and impaired conversion of thyroxine (T4) to triiodothyronine (T3), despite normal thyroid function tests.