Subclinical hypothyroidism: psychiatric disorders and symptoms.
OBJECTIVE
To evaluate the prevalence of psychiatric disorders and symptoms in patients with subclinical hypothyroidism.


METHODS
Ninety-four outpatients with at least two elevated serum thyrotrophin levels (> 4 microU/ml) and normal FT4, and 43 euthyroid outpatients, both groups from HUCFF-UFRJ, were evaluated. Psychiatric diagnosis was based on the Structured Clinical Interview Diagnostic for the DSM-IV axis I (SCID-I/DSM-IV), the psychopathological symptoms on Hamilton anxiety and depression scales, and the Beck Inventory.


RESULTS
Our data showed an increased prevalence of psychiatric disorders in the subclinical hypothyroidism patients when compared to the euthyroid group (45.7% vs 25.6%; p = 0.025), mood disorders being the most frequent. The prevalence of depressive symptoms based on Beck's Scale among subclinical hypothyroidism patients was about 2.3 times higher than among euthyroid ones (45.6% vs 20.9%, p = 0.006). Anxiety symptoms were also more frequent among subclinical hypothyroidism patients (87.0% vs 60.5%, p < 0.001), mainly clinical anxiety (44.6% vs 23.3%; p = 0.001).


CONCLUSIONS
Our results showed a significant association of subclinical hypothyroidism with psychiatric disorders and an increased frequency of subsyndromic depression and anxiety symptoms in subclinical hypothyroidism in relation to the euthyroid group.
Almeida
Cloyra
C
Graduate Program in Endocrinology, Hospital Universitário Clementino Fraga Filho, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil. mleite@openlink.com.br
Brasil
Marco Antônio
MA
Costa
Antônio José Leal
AJ
Reis
Fabiola A A
FA
Reuters
Vaneska
V
Teixeira
Patrícia
P
Ferreira
Márcia
M
Marques
Amanda M
AM
Melo
Bianca A
BA
Teixeira
Letícia B B de M
LB
Buescu
Alexandre
A
Vaisman
Mário
M
D001008:Anxiety Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology*; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003866:Depressive Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology*; D039721:Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007037:Hypothyroidism / Q000523:psychology*; D007406:Interview, Psychological; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015995:Prevalence; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales