title: Mental and physical complaints in thyroid disorders in the general population.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To test the hypothesis that untreated overt and subclinical thyroid disorders and autoimmune thyroiditis (AIT) are associated with mental and physical complaints in the general population.
  
  
  METHODS
  A total of 3790 participants from the Study of Health in Pomerania (SHIP) with no known thyroid disorders were analyzed concerning their thyroid function (TSH, FT3, FT4), autoantibodies (TPO-Ab), their thyroid structure and size and their mental and physical complaints (Zerssen Complaint Scale).
  
  
  RESULTS
  Overt hyperthyroidism (prevalence: 0.4%) was associated with a significantly lower total complaint-score than euthyroid subjects. Subjects with overt hypothyroidism (0.5%), subclinical hypothyroidism (0.7%), or subclinical hyperthyroidism (1.6%) were not different from controls in their total complaints. Females with AIT showed higher scores of tachycardia and anxiety independent from their thyroid function.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In non-patient samples, hyperthyroidism is associated with positive effects on self-rated mental and physical health. AIT may be associated with negative effects on health also in euthyroid subjects.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Ernst Moritz Arndt University Greifswald, Stralsund, Germany. grabeh@uni-griefswald.de
authors.forename: H J
authors.initials: HJ
authors.lastname: Grabe
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Völzke
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Lüdemann
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Wolff
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Schwahn
authors.forename: U
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: John
authors.forename: W
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Meng
authors.forename: H J
authors.initials: HJ
authors.lastname: Freyberger
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D005260:Female; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000209:etiology*; D008603:Mental Health; D008875:Middle Aged; D013959:Thyroid Diseases / Q000150:complications* / Q000523:psychology*; D013967:Thyroiditis, Autoimmune