High serum TSH levels are associated with depression in the elderly.
In order to investigate the association between elevated serum TSH levels and depression in the elderly, we conducted a population-based study of 451 over 60-year-old outpatients of a general University Hospital. Patients were divided into Group I (GI) (248 individuals) with high serum TSH levels, but otherwise no important condition or disease, and Group II (GII) (203 patients) with no previous diagnosis of thyroid or mood disease, referred to the hospital because of nonthyroidal severe diseases. All patients were clinically examined and classified according to DMS-IV for mood disturbance and had serum TSH, free T4 levels and antithyroid antibodies measured. High serum TSH levels (11.6+/-14.8 mU/l) were observed in 65/203 (32%) patients of GII. Among these patients, 42/65 (65%) had normal free T4 concentrations (1.23+/-0.98 ng/dl), no clinical manifestation of hypothyroidism and thus were considered to present subclinical hypothyroidism. Depression was observed in 24 cases from GI (9.7%) and 29 from GII (14.3%) and was frequent in the subclinical hypothyroid patients (49%). Our results suggest that mood disturbances are frequent in the elderly with elevated serum TSH levels, but they do not differ in the primary hypothyroid and the nonthyroidal sick patients.
Chueire
Valéria Bahdur
VB
Internal Medicine, Department of Medicine, Faculdade de Ciências Médicas (FCM-UNICAMP), State University of Campinas, Rua Alexander Fleming 181, Cidade Universitária 'Zeferino Vaz', s/n degrees, Barão Geraldo, 13083-970, SP, Campinas, Brazil.
Silva
Emanuela Torreão Brito
ET
Perotta
Eliana
E
Romaldini
João Hamilton
JH
Ward
Laura Sterian
LS
D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D016001:Confidence Intervals; D003863:Depression / Q000097:blood*; D003866:Depressive Disorder / Q000097:blood; D005260:Female; D005470:Fluorometry; D006801:Humans; D007037:Hypothyroidism / Q000097:blood / Q000175:diagnosis; D007124:Immunoenzyme Techniques; D008163:Luminescent Measurements; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011863:Radioimmunoassay; D012306:Risk; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D012737:Sex Factors; D013972:Thyrotropin / Q000097:blood*; D013974:Thyroxine / Q000097:blood; D014284:Triiodothyronine / Q000097:blood
D014284:Triiodothyronine; D013972:Thyrotropin; D013974:Thyroxine