Depression, anxiety, and somatization in patients with clinical and subclinical hypothyroidism: An exploratory study

Kavita Sanjiv Kale, Bharati Baviskar

Thyroid Research and Practice 2018 15(1):10-14

Background: Hypothyroidism and subclinical hypothyroidism (SCHT) are common disorders seen in clinical practice. A large proportion of patients with these disorders show psychiatric comorbidity. The current study was carried out to assess the prevalence and proportion of depression, anxiety, and somatization symptoms and compare the same between these two groups of patients. Methodology: Patients attending a medical outpatient department were screened for thyroid dysfunction using laboratory parameters, and patients detected with clinical and SCHT were included in the study. The sample consisted of 34 patients with CHT and 36 patients with SCHT. The patients were administered the Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression, Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9), Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 Questionnaire, and PHQ-15 for somatization. The data were analyzed statistically using computerized software. Results: The study groups were well matched on sociodemographic profile and basic data. On assessing the severity of depression and anxiety, more cases of mild depression were reported in the subclinical hypothyroid group compared to moderate and severe depression being higher in the clinical hypothyroid group (P = 0.0001). Anxiety was well matched in both groups while somatization was higher in the subclinical hypothyroid group (P = 0.0001). Scores on depression scales were higher in the clinical group (P = 0.0001) and anxiety and somatization scores were higher in the subclinical group (P = 0.0001). Conclusions: Depression is usually seen in CHT while anxiety and somatization may be greater in SCHT. Further studies in larger populations are needed to validate the findings.

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