Prevalence of Thyroid Dysfunction Among Depression Patients in a Tertiary Care Centre

Patients with thyroid disorders are more prone to develop depressive symptoms and conversely depression may be accompanied by various subtle thyroid abnormalities. The aim of the study was to estimate the prevalence of thyroid dysfunction in depression.

This is a descriptive cross-sectional study conducted at Devdaha Medical College and Research Institute employing a simple random sampling technique during the period of August 2019-January 2020. The research was approved by the Ethical Committee of the Institutional Review Board of Devdaha Medical College and Research Institute. The protocol approval number is 009/019. Data analysis was done in Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (Version 23). Results were presented as frequencies and percentages where required.

Among 263 patients with depression, 69 (26.2%) had abnormal thyroid status with most common being subclinical hypothyroidism 32 (12.2%), 13 (4.9%) overt hypothyroidism and 7 (2.7%) overt hyperthyroidism.

The prevalence of thyroid dysfunction is high among patients with depression. We recommend to conduct routine thyroid function tests for all the patients with depression.