Hashimoto's Thyroiditis Prevalence and its Relationship with Depression and Anxiety Among Ege University Medical Students
Project no. 23554 · Status: Kapanmış (Yayın bekleniyor) · 2022
Summary
<p>Hashimato's thyroiditis (HT) is a prevalent autoimmune disorder contributing to hypothyroidism. While anti-thyroid peroxidase (anti-TPO) antibodies are often associated with thyrocyte destruction, their positivity is not obligatory for HT diagnosis. The prevalence of HT varies geographically and between genders. It may present with unique clinical presentations. Neuropsychiatric manifestations, particularly depression and anxiety, have been explored in the context of HT. Depression and anxiety disorders are prevalent worldwide, with evidence linking them to untreated hypothyroidism and elevated anti-TPO antibody levels in HT patients. This study aims to investigate the association between HT and depression and anxiety in a cohort of medical students, considering the potential impact of autoimmune process and autoantibodies. Of the 392 Medical School students who participated in our study, 200 were female. The mean age of the participants was 22.4+1.2 years and the mean TSH level was 1.6+0.8 mU/L. Hashimoto's Thyroiditis was detected in 13.5% of the participants, while 8.7% of them had HT diagnosis in their mother, 1.8% in their father, and 3.8% in their siblings. While antibody positivity was detected in 8.2%, USG findings were positive in 26.8% (n:105). Depression and anxiety scale scores were respectively found to be high in 29.8% and 25.8% of the participants. depression was detected in 37.7% and anxiety in 30.2% of the participants with HT, using the scale cut-off scores. There was no statistically significant difference found between the participants with and without HT in terms of anxiety score. Depression scale scores were statistically significantly higher in the HT group compared to the non-HT group. We found a higher prevalence of HT compared to general population estimates. we think that this prevalence is due to the psychological stress of a challenging medical school education, which can trigger autoimmunity. Other studies in the literature showing that psychological stress is a risk factor for various autoimmune diseases support our results. further studies are needed on this subject.</p>