title: Thyroid hormone levels and recurrence of major depression.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The relationship between basal thyroid hormone levels and acute antidepressant response has been studied, but any relationship between basal thyroid hormone levels and long-term course of depressive illness has not been evaluated.
  
  
  METHODS
  The authors used a Cox regression survival analysis to evaluate the relationship between life course of depressive illness and basal levels of thyroid hormones (triiodothyronine [T(3)], thyroxine [T(4)], and thyrotropin) in 75 outpatients with unipolar major depressive disorder.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Time to recurrence of major depression was inversely related to T(3) levels but not to T(4) levels.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These data may be of clinical interest in view of the fact that T(3) is used to augment antidepressant response.
authors.affiliation: Mood Disorders Program and Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Health Sciences, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. joffe@fhs.csu.mcmaster.ca
authors.forename: R T
authors.initials: RT
authors.lastname: Joffe
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Marriott
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000553:Ambulatory Care; D003866:Depressive Disorder / Q000097:blood / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000188:drug therapy*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D012008:Recurrence; D016019:Survival Analysis; D013972:Thyrotropin / Q000097:blood*; D013974:Thyroxine / Q000097:blood*; D014284:Triiodothyronine / Q000097:blood*
chemical_list: D014284:Triiodothyronine; D013972:Thyrotropin; D013974:Thyroxine