Subclinical thyroid disease: scientific review and guidelines for diagnosis and management

It is probably not necessary to screen most people for subclinical thyroid disease or to treat people who are diagnosed with this condition, according to researchers who evaluated 195 studies on this topic. The only possible exception is pregnant women, who should be screened and treated. Subclinical thyroid disease means the patient has normal blood levels of thyroid hormone, but abnormal levels of the pituitary hormone that stimulates the thyroid gland. Most also have no symptoms of thyroid disease.