Mood and thyroid immunity assessed by ultrasonographic imaging in a primary health care

BackgroundPsychiatric morbidity is highly prevalent in the primary health care settings and it may be related to autoimmune thyroid disease (AITD). The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of thyroid immunity, evident by hypo-echoic thyroid ultrasound pattern, on prevalence of depression and anxiety in a primary care setting.MethodsIn a cross-sectional design, 504 consecutive primary care patients were invited to the study and 474 patients completed the study. They were screened for depression and anxiety using the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS), were interviewed for affective disorders using the Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview, and were evaluated by ultrasonographic imagining of the thyroid gland.ResultsAmong patients with hypo-echoic thyroid (n = 122) prevailed women and those patients were older than patients with normo-echoic thyroid (n = 352). Women, but not men, with hypo-echoic thyroid compared to those with normo-echoic thyroid had higher scores on the anxiety subscale of the HADS (p = 0.03). Among women with hypo-echoic thyroid, only those pre-menopause, but not those post-menopause, had greater prevalence of high scores on the depression subscale of the HADS (p = 0.02) and a greater likelihood of using psychiatric medications (p = 0.001).LimitationsLack of cytological evaluation of the thyroid gland; lack of serum thyroid antibodies concentrations; and lack of thyroid hormone concentrations.ConclusionsThyroid immunity is related to mood symptoms in primary care patients. These effects are gender specific and in women, they are most evident before menopause.