Graves’ Disease

Graves’ disease is an autoimmune disease in which your immune system attacks healthy tissue in your thyroid gland for unknown reasons. It’s the most common cause of hyperthyroidism, a condition in which your thyroid gland makes too much thyroid hormone.

Your thyroid is a small, butterfly-shaped endocrine gland located at the front of your neck under your skin. Your thyroid’s main job is to regulate the speed of your metabolism (metabolic rate), which is the process of how your body transforms the food you consume into energy, by releasing certain hormones.

The condition gets its name from Robert Graves, an Irish doctor who first described the condition in the 1800s.

Who does Graves’ disease affect?

Graves’ disease affects more people assigned female at birth than people assigned male at birth. It typically occurs in people between the ages of 30 and 50, but it can affect children and older adults.

Your risk of developing Graves’ disease increases if you have a family history of thyroid disease and/or you smoke cigarettes.

You’re also more likely to get Graves’ disease if you have another autoimmune disease, such as:

• Rheumatoid arthritis.
• Lupus.
• Type 1 diabetes.
• Celiac disease.
• Vitiligo.

How common is Graves’ disease?

Even though Graves’ disease is the most common cause of hyperthyroidism, accounting for 60% to 80% of hyperthyroidism cases, it’s a relatively rare condition. Approximately 1.2% of people in the United States have hyperthyroidism.

How does Graves’ disease affect my body?

Thyroid hormone affects several parts of your body and bodily functions. Because of this, Graves’ disease/hyperthyroidism (excess thyroid hormone) can affect many parts of your body, including your: