The endocrinologist named the main signs of a "hormonal malfunction"
The first signs of a "hormonal malfunction" are difficult to notice due to the fast pace of life. Therefore, it is advisable to monitor your well-being on a daily basis, as sometimes the symptoms of ill health may seem insignificant, and the so-called hormonal malfunction may be hidden under the mask of malaise. Valeria Ivanitskaya, an endocrinologist at Invitro, told Izvestia about this on October 17.
She noted that as such, the concept of "hormonal failure" does not exist in medicine. As a rule, it refers to the excessive or insufficient production of hormones by the endocrine glands. Non–specific signs include general weakness, increased fatigue, prolonged subfebrile fever (temperature 37.1-38 degrees), night sweats, headache, weight loss or gain, nausea, dryness and peeling of the skin, skin rashes, hair loss on the head, swelling, nail damage.
"Specific signs include: darkening (hyperpigmentation) of the skin in places of friction (neck, elbows, folds), scars, excessive hair growth on the face and body in women, menstrual cycle disorders, decreased libido, erectile dysfunction in men, increased hand and foot size and enlargement of facial features in an adult," Ivanitskaya warned.
In addition, symptoms include wide maroon stretch marks on the body, rounded face, uncontrolled loss or gain of body weight with a central type of obesity (excessive fat deposition on the abdomen and trunk with relatively thin limbs), thinning of the skin.
To assess the compliance of a person's weight with his height, as well as to identify the presence of underweight, overweight or obesity, a calculated parameter is used — the body mass index (BMI). This is the ratio of body weight in kilograms to the square of height in meters.: weight (kg) / height (m2). For an adult, the criterion for underweight is less than 18.5; a BMI from 18.5 to 25 is considered normal; a BMI from 25 to 29.9 is a sign of overweight. A BMI value of 30 or higher indicates the presence of obesity. For a more accurate assessment of weight disorders, it is also necessary to take into account waist circumference and bioimpedance analysis of body composition.
With sudden weight changes without changing the diet, problems with the endocrine glands can be suspected: thyroid, pancreas, adrenal glands.
Excess production of thyroid hormones (hyperthyroidism) leads to an acceleration of metabolism and, consequently, to weight loss. On the contrary, their insufficient production (hypothyroidism) slows down the metabolism and naturally leads to an increase in body weight. Cortisol deficiency in adrenal insufficiency is the cause of low body weight, and its excess in Itsenko—Cushing syndrome is the established cause of weight gain and changes in body fat distribution.
"Without special treatment prescribed by a doctor, it will be difficult and even impossible to normalize weight in such cases. First of all, to normalize body weight, it is necessary to adjust nutrition, in particular its caloric content," the doctor said.
She noted that for an effective and sustainable process of weight normalization, an integrated approach is needed: changing nutrition with an emphasis on its quality and calorie content, increasing daily physical activity, stress management, sleep normalization, as well as consulting a doctor to diagnose and correct possible hormonal disorders.
On October 4, Abigail Dove, a researcher at the Department of Neurobiology, Social Sciences and Public Health at the Karolinska Institute, who led the study, spoke about the dependence of the aging process of the brain on sleep quality. She also suggested that due to the ability to modify sleep, it may be possible to prevent accelerated aging of the brain and even a decrease in its cognitive functions.
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