Quality of Life and Mood Disorders in Patients with Hashimoto Thyroiditis

Olga Vasovic, ,Marina Nikolicd Jurovic,Vladimir Djukic,University Hospital Dr Dragisa Misovic-Dedinje, Belgrade, Serbia

doi:10.18662/brain/11.1sup2/70

Abstract

Aim: It is well known that hypothyroidism is associated with poorer quality of life. Still, there are more studies nowadays that also report low health-related quality of life (HRQol), more depression, and anxiety in euthyroid Hashimoto thyroiditis (HT). We hypothesized that autoimmunity itself is associated with low HRQoL and a high prevalence of mood disorders in euthyroid HT. Patients and methods: We examined 130 euthyroid patients with HT (90% females) and 111 matched euthyroid, healthy controls. The groups were subdivided per age: 20-49 yrs. and 50 years. We conducted a cross-sectional analysis. We took blood samples for thyroid hormone levels and thyroid autoantibodies. We examined HRQoL via the health questionnaire (SF-36) short-form version 1 and the presence and degree of mood disorders with the Hospital anxiety and depression scale (HADS) questionnaire. Significant associations between variables were examined with ANOVA analysis and partial correlations. Results: Patients were significantly more depressed than control subjects (p 0.001), and have had more anxiousness, but only in the younger group (p 0.05). Quality of life was significantly better in the older control group comparing to patients with Hashimoto (p 0.01). The overall SF-36 score was in a significant negative correlation with antibodies (TPOAb, TgAb). Depression was positively associated with TSH and TPOAb levels. Conclusion: Our study indicated that euthyroid patients with HT had worse HRQoL and showed more symptoms of anxiety and depression. We also have found that levels of thyroid antibodies were crucial in terms of neuropsychological wellbeing. More studies with longitudinal observations could explain a possible causal relationship.

Highlights

Hashimoto thyroiditis (HT) is autoimmune thyroiditis (AIT) and is the major cause of decreased thyroid hormone secretion in adult patients
We hypothesized that autoimmunity itself is associated with low HRQoL and a high prevalence of mood disorders in euthyroid HT
Total SF-36 scores were significantly higher in the older group of control participants comparing to older patients with HT (p 0.01)

Summary

Introduction

Hashimoto thyroiditis (HT) is autoimmune thyroiditis (AIT) and is the major cause of decreased thyroid hormone secretion in adult patients. The diagnosis of HT is made by a combination of positive circulating antibodies against thyroid with typical clinical signs, and special thyroid ultrasound characteristics (Caturegli, De Remigis & Rose, 2014). In the United States, the prevalence of AIT is approximately 4 % to 13 % (Canaris et al, 2000; Hollowell et al, 2002). The prevalence rates are higher in females than males, and rises with age, even up to 20% in elderly females (Surks et al, 2004). It is very important to be aware of associations between these three conditions because early diagnosis and adequate treatment are of public interest

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