How do thyroid hormones work?
The thyroid gland produces several hormones, two of which affect ovarian function: thyroxine (T4) and triiodothyronine (T3).
The ovaries have receptors to those hormones. T3 and T4 affect:
- egg growth and maturation
- progesterone and estrogen production by the corpus luteum
- egg fertilization
- embryo viability at its early stages of development
The hormones stimulate the absorption of intestinal cholesterol and the liver’s synthesis of cholesterol used to synthesize sex hormones.
T4 and T3 deficiency in the body may cause a shortage of material necessary to produce female sex hormones, which will disrupt the hormone synthesis and egg maturation processes.
