Table 1.
Studies investigating the relationship between thyroid function and depression/psychological well-being
| Study | n | Thyroid measure | Psychiatric measure | Analysis | Association | Direction | p |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Engum et al. [14] | 30,589 | TSH | HADS | abnormal vs. euthyroid | no | – | |
| Forman-Hoffman and Philibert [16] | 6,869 | free T4/TSH | DIS | continuous | yes | ↓ ↓ | 0.001 TSH 0.03 free T4 |
| Roberts et al. [18] | 5,857 | free T4/TSH | HADS | continuous | no (depression) | – | |
| Almeida et al. [19] | 3,932 | free T4/TSH | GDS, ICD depression | continuous | no | ||
| Grabe et al. [74] | 3,790 | free T4/T3/TSH | Zersson Complaint Scale | abnormal vs. euthyroid | no | – | |
| Williams et al. [17] | 2,269 | total T4 | GHQ-30 | continuous | yes | ↓ | 0.03 |
| Philibert et al. [24] | 1,555 | free T4/TSH | lifetime MD | continuous | no | ||
| Guimaraes et al. [20] | 1,298 | free T4/TSH | PRIME-MD | abnormal vs. euthyroid | TSH >10 yes Clin Hypo yes SC Hypo no | ↑ ↑ – | |
| de Jongh et al. [75] | 1,219 | TSH +/− T4/T3 | CES-D | abnormal vs. euthyroid | ns | ||
| van de Ven et al. [23] | 1,125 | free T4/TSH | BDI, current/ever depression | groups of thyroid | ns | ||
| Kritz-Silverstein et al. [76] | 1,110 | TSH | BDI | continuous | men yes women no | ↓ – | 0.03 |
| Gussekloo et al. [77] | 599 | free T4/TSH | GDS | continuous | no | – | |
| Pop et al. [25] | 538 | free T4/TSH | EDS | abnormal vs. euthyroid | no | – | |
| Kim et al. [78] | 495 | TSH | GMS | continuous | ns | ||
| Jorde et al. [38] | 243 | free T4/TSH | GHQ-30 | SC hypothyroid vs. euthyroid | yes | ↓ | <0.01 |
| Gulseren et al. [21] | 160 | free T4/T3/TSH | HDRS, SF-36 | abnormal vs. euthyroid | yes | ↑ | 0.001 |
| Frey et al. [79] | 121 | free T4/T3/TSH | NEO depressive trait | continuous | TSH & neuro | ↓ | 0.0002 TSH |
| van Boxtel et al. [80] | 120 | TSH | SCL | continuous | no | – | |
| Bono et al. [22] | 36 | free T4/T3/TSH | HDRS | SC hypothyroid vs. treated | yes | ↑ | <0.05 |
HADS = Hospital anxiety and depression scale; DIS = diagnostic interview schedule; GDS = geriatric depression scale; ICD = international classification of diseases; GHQ = general health questionnaire; PRIME-MD = primary care evaluation of mental disorders; CES-D = centre for epidemiological studies-depression scale; BDI = becks depression index; EDS = edinburgh depression scale; GMS = geriatric mental scale; HDRS = hamilton depression rating scale; SF-36 = short form 36; NEO = neurotism, extraversion, openness personality inventory; SCL = symptomatic check list; SC = subclinical; ↑ = positive association; ↓ = inverse association.