Thyroid Hormone Standardization Program

Thyroid dysfunction can lead to serious health problems. In most cases of thyroid dysfunction, function can be restored when detected correctly.

However, if left untreated, thyroid disorders can lead to serious cardiovascular and neuromuscular complications. It can also adversely affect bone health and child development. Physicians rely on thyroid function tests to detect, diagnose, and treat diseases caused by thyroid hormones. These tests measure the hormones free thyroxine (fT4) and thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH).

CDC’s thyroid hormone standardization program is improving the accuracy of fT4 and TSH measurements performed in patient care and public health activities. To do this, it operates a reference method for fT4 and provides serum materials to laboratories and test manufacturers to help in assessing measurement accuracy, and to improve the variability of measurement accuracy among laboratories.

Please contact Standardization@cdc.gov with questions about the CDC Thyroid Hormone Standardization Program.