Depression and anxiety levels among patients with thyroid disorders: A cross-sectional study

Abstract

The aim of this study was to investigate the association between anxiety and depression among patients diagnosed with different thyroid disorders, as well as to identify the frequency of these comorbid conditions. A total of 181 (female/male; 142/39) patients with different thyroid diseases were assessed in this cross-sectional study. Patients were classified according to the type of thyroid disorder they were diagnosed with. The biochemical parameters were obtained from hospital database. The Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI) and the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) were utilized to evaluate the association between thyroid disorders and anxiety/depression among patients. Upon classifying patients according to their thyroid disease, it was found that 24 patients (13.2%) were diagnosed with non-autoimmune hypothyroidism, 40 (22.1%) with autoimmune hyperthyroidism, 85 (47%) with autoimmune hypothyroidism, and 32 (17.7%) with nodular thyroid disease. The average scores for BDI and BAI were 15.50±10.19 and 17.83±12.01 in the whole study group. Anxiety and depression were both quite common among patients, with respective rates of 75.7% and 66.7%. BDI scores were significantly correlated with the levels of anti-TPO and anti-TG in patient groups with autoimmune thyroid diseases. Additionally, there was a significant correlation between the BAI scores and anti-TG levels. Patients with thyroid disorders in this study frequently have high levels of anxiety and depression. There is a relationship between depression and anxiety and the levels of thyroid autoantibodies. The presence of thyroid autoantibodies may be a sign of susceptibility to depression and anxiety in thyroid patients.