Abstract

A Cross-Sectional Study of Thyroid Dysfunction Among Patients with Psychiatric Disorders

Author(s): Krutika Ainapur*, Bhaskar Mara, Tushar Saini, Vinod. A, Ankush Wanjari, Sriniwas B. Choudhari

Objectives: The objective of this study is to evaluate the prevalence of abnormal thyroid hormonal status in patients with psychiatric disorders.

Materials and methods: A descriptive study comprising of 150 subjects above the age of 20 years attending psychiatry outpatient department, SN Medical College (SNMC), Bagalkot, Karnataka, India, was done over a period of six months, after taking institutional ethics committee clearance. The subjects were included in the study after being diagnosed to be suffering from a psychiatric disorder by a consultant psychiatrist based on the International Classification of Diseases-10 (ICD-10) criteria, who gave consent. Their thyroid function tests (TFTs) were done.A semi-structured proforma was used to obtain sociodemographic data like name, age, sex, socioeconomic status, education, occupation, and TFTs. Data was analysed using frequencies and percentages.

Results: 22% of psychiatric disorder patients had some kind of thyroid dysfunction. Among 22%, 16% of patients had subclinical hypothyroidism, 2.7% had overt hypothyroidism and hyperthyroidism, and 0.7% had subclinical hyperthyroidism. Among depressive episode patients, 8% had subclinical hypothyroidism.

Conclusion: Most common thyroid dysfunction in our patients was subclinical hypothyroidism. Most common psychiatric disorder having thyroid dysfunction was depressive disorder. Thus, treating subclinical hypothyroidism may lead to good prognosis of psychiatric disorders, especially the mood disorders. 

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