Long-term residual complaints and psychosocial sequelae after remission of hyperthyroidism

The issue of residual complaints after treatment for hyperthyroidism in current euthyroid patients was investigated by means of a survey. Patients treated for hyperthyroidism were selected from medical records of the previous 6 years in two Dutch University Clinics. After the exclusion of patients with comorbidity, 303 one-time hyperthyroid respondents were included in the analysis. A total of 77% of these patients had been diagnosed with Graves' Disease. The newly developed Hyperthyroidism Complaint Questionnaire (HCQ), was used to quantify problems of somatic and mental functioning. The SymptomsCheckList-90 (SCL-90) was used to assess self-reported psychopathological symptoms, the Nottingham Health Profile was used to measure perceived health/quality of life. Dysthyroid patients (n = 20) had a mean HCQ-score of 14.5 (+/- 8.1) complaints; patients who reported euthyroidism for less than 12 months (n = 171) had a mean of 9.3 (+/- 7.6) residual complaints; patients who reported euthyroidism for more than 12 months (n = 54) a mean of 6.6 (+/- 6.8) residual complaints. On each dimension of psychopathology covered by the SCL-90, including depression and anxiety, approximately one third of the total sample had a score exceeding 80% of adult females. According to the NHP lack of energy was evident in 53% of all respondents. Over one third of patients with a full-time job were unable to resume the same work after treatment. It appears that many of these patients are in need of psychological support.