Study of Thyroid Hormone Status in Patients with Major Depressive Disorder

Abstract

Introduction: Major depressive disorder (MDD) is a severe psychiatric disorder which has both mental and somatic symptomatology. The clinical implications of thyroid hormones in depression have been studied extensively and still remains disputable. Considering the scarcity of study in our country context, this study aimed to find out the thyroid hormone status in patients with MDD compared to healthy subjects. Methods and Material: This cross-sectional comparative study was conducted in the Department of Biochemistry in collaboration with the Department of Psychiatry, Sylhet MAG Osmani Medical College Hospital, from July 2021 to June 2022. Fifty patients with MDD and 50 age- and gender-matched healthy subjects were included in this study. Thyroid hormones [Serum thyrotropin (TSH), free triiodothyronine (FT3), and free thyroxine (FT4)] levels were measured and compared between two groups. Results: Both MDD patients and healthy control groups had similar sociodemographic characteristics. Serum FT3 level was significantly lower (2.23 ± 1.07 versus 2.60 ± 0.66 pg/mL) and TSH level was significantly higher (4.10±4.23 versus 2.50 ± 1.56 mIU/L) among patients with MDD than the healthy individuals. Overall thyroid dysfunction was significantly higher in MDD Group than the control Group (32% versus 6%, p<0.01). Serum TSH, FT3 and FT4 had no significant association with age and gender (p>0.05) in patients with MDD. Conclusion: This study revealed that thyroid dysfunction is significantly higher in patients with MDD than that of apparently healthy subjects. MDD patients were more prone to have hypothyroidism.