News & Events
Thyroid Awareness: Double the Celebration This Month!
April showers might bring May flowers – but May is also known for two major thyroid awareness campaigns.
International Thyroid Awareness Week (ITAW) is celebrated the final week of May and is organized by Thyroid Federation International (TFI).

TFI was founded by six organizations from five countries (USA, Canada, Germany, Italy and UK) in 1995, including the GDATF (back then known as the National Graves’ Disease Foundation). Dr. Larry Wood, a longtime Board member of the GDATF (now retired) was instrumental in the formation and served as the President for many years. GDATF Founder Dr. Nancy Hord Patterson has worked with TFI for decades.
GDATF Board member Ashok Bhaseen currently serves as President. The group now includes more than 30 members and meets annually to plan educational campaigns and to discuss common challenges faced by patients all around the world.
Each year has a theme, and the 2025 campaign is “Thyroid Disease and Artificial Intelligence”. You can see the slide deck on how AI is being used to battle Thyroid Disease and learn more here.
In a related celebration, a group of international medical societies recognize World Thyroid Day (WTD) on May 25th. This commemoration was created in 2008 by the European Thyroid Association (ETA) and was endorsed in 2010 by The American Thyroid Association (ATA), the Latin Thyroid Association (LATS), and the Asian Oceanic Thyroid Association (AOTA).

The American Thyroid Association noted last year that WTD “highlights the dedication of the endocrine community—clinicians, researchers, teachers, and nurses—to the thyroid and its diseases and underlines the strong and constant bond between us and our patients.” (Learn more here!) World Thyroid Day 2024 called for thyroid disease—especially hypothyroidism—to be recognized as a key NCD risk factor and urges action through awareness, early testing, and better nutrition to protect global health.
Are you active on social media, including Facebook, Twitter/X, Instagram, and LinkedIn? If so, keep an eye out for content in the coming days from the GDATF, TFI, ATA, and related organizations. Sharing this important information with your friends and family can help them better understand your own journey – and might help a loved one who is experiencing symptoms get a more timely diagnosis!