Fatigue, tiredness, and weight gain are some of the most common symptoms of hypothyroidism. But this disease also comes with many subtle symptoms that often go undiagnosed for a long time.
A new study in the Journal of Affective Disorders adds some serious psychological problems to this subtle list of symptoms.
By addressing hypothyroidism, some of these psychological problems can hopefully be avoided as well.
A team led by scientists from China’s Xinxiang Medical University knew that hypothyroidism contributes to the risk of psychological disorders, so they wanted to find out whether there was a difference between early-onset and late-onset disorders.
They defined an early-onset psychological disorder as one starting before age 22, with a late-onset disorder first manifesting any time after age 22.
They specifically investigated the relationship between hypothyroidism and major depressive disorder and bipolar disorder (manic depressive disorder).
They obtained patients’ medical records with basic demographic data, the duration of their hypothyroidism, the details of their mood disorders, and thyroid function measurements such as levels of TSH (thyroid stimulating hormone), T4, FT4, T3, and FT3 (all thyroid hormones).
They reached the following conclusions:
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1. 9.4% of early-onset bipolar disorder patients had hypothyroidism, versus 6.2% of late-onset bipolar patients.
2. 12.7% of early-onset major depressive disorder patients had hypothyroidism, versus 6.6% of late-onset patients.
3. People with early-onset mood disorders were twice as likely as those with late-onset mood disorders to have hypothyroidism.
Therefore, the researchers’ hunch was right: hypothyroidism is more common with early-onset mood disorders than with late-onset disorders.
This can mean one of two things, both of which are quite alarming.
First, according to several studies, the prevalence of depression among adolescents and young adults is increasing. According to a 2016 study published in the journal Pediatrics, the prevalence of major mood disorders increased from 8.7% in 2005 to 11.3% in 2014 in these age groups.
If this new study is correct, undiagnosed hypothyroidism may also be increasingly common among adolescents and young people, which may partly explain why mood disorders are becoming more common as well.
This is serious, since hypothyroidism can cause poor health outcomes for these patients down the line, especially when it is not diagnosed.
Second, if hypothyroidism and early-onset mood disorders are related, this could also mean that young people who have been diagnosed with hypothyroidism have unacknowledged depression or other mood disorders that they are not addressing.
Therefore, if you have a teenager who is either depressed or has been diagnosed with hypothyroidism, remember the relationship between the two and test for whichever condition may still be undiagnosed.
And if you’re suffering from anxiety, you’ll want to check out this simple approach that thousands of readers have used to successfully address their anxiety disorders…
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