A new study looks at the prevalence of abnormal thyroid function in youth with severe mood and anxiety disorder. It is the largest study to date of this population and will help mental health professionals better understand the predictors of abnormal thyroid function, like weight gain, family history, or treatment with specific medications.
«I was interested in devising this study because I wanted to better understand any relationship between the physical illness and mood disorder,» says Marissa Luft, a third-year medical student at UC, and lead author on the study.
«The American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry recommends that clinicians consider of hypothyroidism or hyperthyroidism when assessing anxious or depressed youth, given that some thyroid conditions produce anxiety or depressive symptoms. However, until this study, we had limited evidence as to whether routine screening with a laboratory test was the best approach to screen for thyroid disease in kids with anxiety and depression,» says corresponding author Jeffrey Strawn, MD, associate professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neuroscience at the UC College of Medicine and director of UC’s Anxiety Disorders Research Program, who mentored Luft.
«These results suggest that screening, with a blood test, may be most helpful when the other predictors of thyroid disease are present,» added Strawn.
The results are available online in the Journal of Clinical Psychiatry.
The thyroid gland is closely connected to brain function and, with other systems, regulates many systems in the body as well as metabolism. It produces hormones that regulate the rate at which food is converted into energy. An overactive thyroid, or hyperthyroidism, can produce anxiety, weight loss and decreased appetite, and poor concentration. Hypothyroidism (too little hormone production) can cause fatigue, weight gain and increase in appetite, slower motor skills and concentration and may look like depression.
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