John F. Kennedy presented a look of good health, vitality, and vigor but something else loomed beneath the surface. John F. Kennedy had Addison’s Disease and it came to light after he was elected to the presidency in 1960. Now news is coming out JFK’s Addison’s disease may have been caused by a rare autoimmune disease, according to a Navy doctor who reviewed Kennedy’s medical records. Autoimmune polyendocrine syndrome type 2, or APS 2, also caused Kennedy’s hypothyroidism, according to a report published Tuesday in the Annals of Internal Medicine.

Addison’s Disease is characterized by the withering of the adrenal glands, which produce adrenaline and other hormones. Symptoms include fatigue, dizziness, muscle weakness, weight loss, difficulties standing up, nausea, sweating and changes in mood and personality. Tuberculosis accounts for about 20% of cases; the rest are autoimmune in origin.

During the presidential campaign in 1960, Kennedy’s opponents tried to raise the issue of his having Addison’s Disease but his doctors issued a cleverly worded statement declaring Kennedy did not have the disease. He hid it during the campaign. JFK was actually diagnosed with Addisons in the 1940s and in 1955 he was diagnosed with hypothyroidism.

While a congressman, in 1947 Kennedy collapsed during a visit to England. The admitting physician diagnosed adrenal crisis and told Kennedy’s friend, Pamela Churchill, “That young American friend of yours, he hasn’t got a year to live”. After treatment, Kennedy returned to the U.S. accompanied by a nurse and was admitted to the Lahey Clinic in Boston. The cover story used then was he had a severe recurrence of the malaria he had contracted in the Pacific during World War II. Quite clever.

During his presidency, Kennedy took a host of medications and other remedies: 500 milligrams of vitamin C twice daily; 10 milligrams of hydrocortisone daily; 2.5 milligrams of prednisone twice daily; 10 milligrams of methyltestosterone daily; 25 micrograms of liothyronine twice daily; 0.1 milligrams fludrocortisone daily; and diphenoxylate hydrochloride and atropine sulfate, two tablets as needed. Liothyronine is a synthetic thyroid hormone. Diphenoxylate/atropine, commonly known as Lomotil, is used to treat diarrhea. The testosterone was administered to combat the weight loss and gonadal atrophy associated with the steroids he was taking.

Autoimmune diseases typically run in families and the Kennedy family is no different. JFK’s younger sister, Eunice, had Addison’s disease, and his son, John F. Kennedy Jr., suffered from Graves’ disease, in which his thyroid was overactive.

Read More:  L.A. Times – John F. Kennedy’s Addison’s disease was probably caused by rare autoimmune disease