Thyroid disease has increased anxiety disorders and depression

Strong connections between depression, anxiety and the thyroid gland

In a recent study, German researchers report a newly discovered strong link between depression, anxiety disorders and chronic thyroid disease. More than 40 percent of all depression and about 30 percent of all anxiety disorders are, according to the research results related to the thyroid. The scientists propose a special therapy that can help those affected more effectively.

A research team from the Friedrich-Alexander-University Erlangen-Nürnberg (FAU) discovered a strong connection between depression and anxiety disorders with a chronic disease of the thyroid called autoimmune thyroiditis (AIT). About ten percent of people in Germany are affected by this widespread thyroid disorder. The FAU researchers also presented a form of therapy to help with these diseases more effectively. Their research results were recently published in the journal "JAMA Psychiatry".

Recently, a new relationship between depression, anxiety disorders and chronic thyroid inflammation was demonstrated in one study. A special therapy should now help those affected more effectively. (Image: Kittiphan / fotolia.com)

Common diseases Depression and anxiety

Fear and depression are among the widespread mental illnesses. According to the Federal Statistical Office, more than a quarter of a million patients were hospitalized in 2016 due to depression. According to the FAU, about four million people in Germany show symptoms of depression. Despite effective options, so far only a few affected people receive adequate therapy. Also, anxiety disorders are unfortunately not uncommon. "Around 20 percent of the population will contract an anxiety disorder at some point in their lives," reports the Max Planck Institute for Psychiatry.

What does the thyroid have to do with depression and anxiety??

"During my consultation, I have seen many hundreds of people with depression and anxiety," explains psychiatrist and study author Dr. Teja Wolfgang Grömer in a press release from the FAU on the study. At the end of 2015, the psychiatrist found a strong connection between the thyroid disorder AIT and the two mental illnesses. To investigate his assumptions, Grömer prompted the current study. 21 independent studies with data from more than 36,000 participants formed the basis of the research.

How does AIT affect the psyche??

"Many patients previously had no explanation for their disease," Dr. Grömer. An AIT (also known as Hashimoto's thyroiditis) causes the thyroid gland to remain inflamed. This could also affect the psyche, since the hormones of the thyroid affect the metabolism and the cellular energy balance. Therefore, AIT also leads to specific mental symptoms such as inner restlessness, tension and exhaustion. Grömer reports that the AIT is quickly overlooked, as in many cases it causes no pain when complaint is discarded during menopause or misinterpreted as pure depression or anxiety disorder.

AIT is not a marginal phenomenon

AIT is most prevalent among people between 30 and 50 years of age. Women are affected much more frequently than men. Analysis of the data showed that AIT sufferers are 3.5 times more likely to develop depression and are 2.3 times more likely to have anxiety. This means that more than 40 percent of depression and 30 percent of anxiety disorders occur in patients with AIT.

Special therapy

Grömer and colleagues suggest in the study a special form of therapy that should treat this type of depression or anxiety more effectively. In this treatment, antidepressants are to be used early, which do not lead to weight gain. In addition, the intake of the trace element selenium is advised. In addition, according to Grömer, an AIT screening with the determination of antibodies in all patients with depression or anxiety should be introduced.

Is AIT-related depression an independent disease?

To shed light on these new relationships, future psychiatric research on depression or anxiety would require treatment of AIT patients in a separate group, said Grömer. (Vb)