A case control study on psychiatric disorders in Hashimoto disease and euthyroid goitre: not only depressive but also anxiety disorders are associated with thyroid autoimmunity

OBJECTIVE To evaluate the association between mood and anxiety disorders in Hashimoto disease and Euthyroid Goitre in a case control study. METHODS Cases included 19 subjects with Hashimoto disease in euthyroid phase, 19 subjects with euthyroid goitre, 2 control groups each of 76 subjects matched (4/1) according to age and sex drawn from the data base of a community based sample. Psychiatric diagnoses were formulated using the International Composite Diagnostic Interview Simplified, according to DSM-IV criteria. All subjects underwent a complete thyroid evaluation including physical examination, thyroid echography and measure of serum free T4 (FT4), free T3 (FT3), thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) and anti-thyroid peroxidase autoantibodies (anti-TPO). RESULTS Subjects with Hashimoto disease showed higher frequencies of lifetime Depressive Episode (OR = 6.6, C.L. 95% 1.2-25.7), Generalized Anxiety Disorders (OR = 4,9 Cl 95% 1.5-25.4) and Social Phobia (OR = 20.0, CL 95% 2.3-153.3) whilst no differences were found between subjects with goitre and controls. CONCLUSION The study seems to confirm that risk for depressive disorders in subjects with thyroiditis is independent of the thyroid function detected by routine tests and indicates that not only mood but also anxiety disorders may be associated with Hashimoto disease.