Assessment of thyroid function in patients with major depression and panic disorder in Zanjan (2006

Introduction: Depression and anxiety, in particular panic disorder are considered common psychological problems associated with major functional disorders. On the other hand, some medical disorders such as thyroid disease may have the same manifestation or accelerate the process. This following is a closer examination of the issue trough the study of a group of patients referred to a psychiatric clinic in Zanjan.

Materials and Methods: In this descriptive study, patients with major depression or panic disorder (referred to the psychiatric clinic or admitted to the ward) were tested for thyroid hormones using immune chemilumine scence method.  Results were then collected and analyzed using SPSS.

Results: From the total of 103 patients , 47 patients were diagnosed with major depression (45.6%), 37 patients with panic disorder (35.9%), and 19 patients had both (18.4%) at the same time. 18.4% of those suffering from major depression were diagnosed with subclinical hyperthyroidism. Decrease in T₄   level was only observed in 2 patients with depression and 2 patients with panic disorder. T₃  level came out  normal for all the patients.

Conclusion: The result of our study, in terms of the prevalence of thyroid disorder in patients with major depression and panic disorder, was consistent with the previous studies where a range of 0-9.7% was reported. Based on the 6.38% prevalence of thyroid disorders in patients with major depressive disorder and %5.4 prevalence of thyroid disorders in patients with panic disorder observed in this study, early diagnosis and treatment of thyroid problems could soon return the patient to normal life.