Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Thyroid Dysfunction and Mental Disorders

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Thyroid Disorders

Abstract

Psychiatric manifestations are not uncommon presentation of thyroid dysfunction. Although, depression and anxiety are likely to occur in both hypo and hyperthyroidism, there are much more mental symptoms which may take place within a course of thyroid dysfunction. Those symptoms may present as a mood, psychotic, cognitive and anxiety in character. The mechanism of such mental symptoms in relation to thyroid abnormalities is still unclear. Proper management is expected to bring about good outcome.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
eBook
USD 16.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 119.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 169.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Esposito S, Prange Jr AJ, Golden RN. The thyroid axis and mood disorders: overview and future prospects. Psychopharmacol Bull. 1997;33(2):205–17.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  2. Pearce JMS. Myxoedema and Sir William Withey Gull (1816–1890). J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry. 2006;77(5):639.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  3. Harrison NA, Michael D, Kopelman MD. Endocrine diseases and metabolic disorders. In: LISHMAN’S organic psychiatry: a textbook of neuropsychiatry. 4th ed. Wiley-Blackwell p. 628–35.

    Google Scholar 

  4. Jackson IMD, Asamoah EO. Thyroid function in clinical depression: insights and uncertainties. Thyroid Today. 1999;22(2):1–11.

    Google Scholar 

  5. Thomas DG Jr. Identifying hypothyroidism’s psychiatric presentations. Curr Psychiatry. 2006;5:98–117.

    Google Scholar 

  6. Stern RA, Robinson B, Thorner AR, et al. A survey study of neuropsychiatric complaints in patients with Graves’ disease. J Neuropsychiatry Clin Neurosci. 1996;8:181–5.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  7. Kraemer HC. Evaluating medical tests: objective and quantitative guidelines. Newbury Park: SAGE Publications; 1992. p. 151–8.

    Google Scholar 

  8. Maser JD, Akiskal HS. “Spectrum concepts in major mental disorders”. Psychiatr Clin North Am. 2002;25:xi–xiii.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  9. Angst J, Merikangas K. “The depressive spectrum: diagnostic classification and course”. J Affect Disord. 1997;45:31–9; 39–40.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  10. Wayne C, Joseph L, Maura L. Implications for neurocircuitry models of depression. Brain Struct Funct. 2008;213:93–118.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  11. Kandel ER. Disorders of mood: depression, mania and anxiety disorders. J Prin Neural Sci. 2000;1209–26 chapter 61.

    Google Scholar 

  12. Etkin A, Katherine E, Alan F, et al. Disrupted amygdalar subregion functional connectivity and evidence of a compensatory network in generalized anxiety disorder. Arch Gen Psychiatry. 2009;66:1361–72.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  13. Green MF. Schizophrenia revealed: from neurons to social interactions. New York: W.W Norton; 2001. p. 207.

    Google Scholar 

  14. Fumi K, Xue-Lian Q, Travis M, et al. Differences in intrinsic functional organization between dorsolateral prefrontal and posterior parietal cortex. Cereb Cortex. 2014;24:2334–49.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  15. Kennedy SH. Core symptoms of major depressive disorder: relevance for diagnosis and treatment. Dialogues Clin Neurosci. 2008;10:271–7.

    PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  16. Whybrow P, Prange TR. Mental changes accompanying thyroid gland dysfunction. Arch Gen Psychiatry. 1969;20:48–63.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  17. Braverman LE, Utiger RD. Werner and Ingbar’s the thyroid: a fundamental and clinical text. 8th ed. Philadelphia: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins; 2000. p. 837–42.

    Google Scholar 

  18. Haggerty JJ, Stern RA, Mason GA, et al. Subclinical hypothyroidism: a modifiable risk factor for depression? Am J Psyciatry. 1993;150:508–10.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  19. Haggerty JJ, Prange AJ. Borderline hypothyroidism and depression. Ann Rev Med. 1995;46:37–46.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  20. Howland RH. Thyroid dysfunction in refractory depression: implications for pathophysiology and treatment. J Clin Psychiatry. 1993;54:47–54.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  21. Vonk R, van der Schot AC, Kahn RS, Nolen WA, Drexhage HA. Is autoimmune thyroiditis part of the genetic vulnerability (or an endophenotype) for bipolar disorder. Biol Psychiatry. 2007;62:135–40.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  22. Kupka RW, Nolen WA, Post RM, et al. High rate of autoimmune thyroiditis in bipolar disorder: lack of association with lithium exposure. Biol Psychiatry. 2002;51:305–11.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  23. Chang KD, Keck PE, Stanton SP, McElroy SL, Strakowski SM, Geracioti TD. Differences in thyroid function between bipolar manic and mixed states. Biol Psychiatry. 1998;43:730–3.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  24. Bauer MS, Whybrow PC. Rapid cycling bipolar affective disorder. Treatment of refractory rapid cycling with high-dose levothyroxine: a preliminary study. Arch Gen Psychiatry. 1990;47:435–40.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  25. Moret C. Combination/augmentation strategies for improving the treatment of depression. Neuropsych Dis Treat. 2005;1:301–9.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  26. Kelly T, Lieberman DZ. The use of triiodothyronine as an augmentation agent in treatment-resistant bipolar II and bipolar disorder NOS. J Affect Disord. 2009;116:222–6.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  27. Tor PC, Lee HY, Fones CL. Late-onset mania with psychosis associated with hypothyroidism in an elderly Chinese lady. Singapore Med J. 2007;48:354–7.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  28. American Psychiatric Association. Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders, 4th ed, text revision. Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Association; 2000.

    Google Scholar 

  29. Engum A, Bjøro T, Mykletun A, Dahl AA. Thyroid autoimmunity, depression and anxiety; are there any connections? An epidemiological study of a large population. J Psychosom Res. 2005;59:263–8.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  30. Hennessey JV, Jackson IM. The interface between thyroid hormones and psychiatry. Endocrinologist. 1996;6:214–23.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  31. Engum A, Bjøro T, Mykletun A, Dahl AA. An association between depression, anxiety and thyroid function: a clinical fact or an artefact? Acta Psychiatr Scand. 2002;106:27–34.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  32. Kolakowsk T, Swigar ME. Thyroid function in depression and alcohol abuse: a retrospective study. Arch Gen Psychiatry. 1977;34:984–8.

    Google Scholar 

  33. Bocchetta A, Loviselli A. Lithium treatment and thyroid abnormalities. Clin Pract Epidemiol Ment Healt. 2006;2:23.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  34. Gau CS, Chang CJ, Tsai FJ, Chao PF, Gau SS. Association between mood stabilizers and hypothyroidism in patients with bipolar disorders: a nested, matched case-control study. Bipolar Disord. 2010;12:253–63.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  35. Gelder MG, Mayou R, Geddes J. Psychiatry. New York: Oxford University Press; 2005. p. 12.

    Google Scholar 

  36. Josephson AM, Mackenzie TB. Thyroid-induced mania in hypothyroid patients. Br J Psychiatr. 1980;137:222–8.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  37. Benjamin JS, Harold IK, Virginia AS. Kaplan & Sadock’s synopsis of psychiatry: behavioral sciences/clinical psychiatry. 10th ed. Philadelphia: Lippincott Williams & Wilkin; 2007.

    Google Scholar 

  38. Brownlie BEW, Rae AM, Walshe JWB, et al. Psychoses associated with thyrotoxicosis: ‘thyrotoxic psychosis’. A report of 18 cases, with statistical analysis of incidence. Eur Endocrinol. 2000;142:438–44.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  39. Martin FI, Deam DR. Hyperthyroidism in elderly hospitalised patients. Clinical features and treatment outcomes. Med J Aust. 1996;164:200–3.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  40. Wu T, Flowers JW, Tudiver F, et al. Subclinical thyroid disorders and cognitive performance among adolescents in the United States. BMC Pediatr. 2006;6:12.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  41. Schlote B, Schaaf L, Schmidt R, et al. Mental and physical state in subclinical hyperthyroidism: investigations in a normal working population. Biol Psychiatry. 1992;32:48–56.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  42. Román GC, Ghassabian A, Bongers-Schokking JJ, et al. Association of gestational maternal hypothyroxinemia and increased autism risk. Ann Neurol. 2013;74:733–42.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  43. Patel G, Fancher TL. Generalized anxiety disorder. Ann Intern Med. 2013;159:ITC6–1.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  44. Fava GA, Porcelli P, Rafanelli C, et al. The spectrum of anxiety disorders in the medically ill. J Clin Psychiatry. 2010;71:910–4.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  45. Kathol RG, Turner R, Delahunt J. Depression and anxiety associated with hyperthyroidism: response to antithyroid therapy. Psychosomatics. 1986;27:501–5.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  46. Jadresic DP. Psychiatric aspects of hyperthyroidism. J Psychosom Res. 1990;34:603–15.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  47. Bauer M, Hellweg R, Graf KJ, et al. Treatment of refractory depression with high dose thyroxine. Neuropsychopharmacology. 1998;18:444–55.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  48. American Psychiatric Association. Practice guideline for the treatment of patients with bipolar disorder (revision). Am J Psychiatry. 2002;159:1–50.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  49. Mitchell L. Evaluation of the association between St. John’s wort and elevated thyroid-stimulating hormone. Pharmacotherapy. 2001;21:1574–8.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  50. Kibirige D, Luzinda K, Ssekitoleko R. Spectrum of lithium induced thyroid abnormalities: a current perspective. Thyroid Res. 2013;6(1):3.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  51. Barbesino G. Drugs affecting thyroid function. Thyroid. 2010;20:763–70.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  52. Bunevicius R, Kazanavicius G, Zalinkevicius R, et al. Effects of thyroxine as compared with thyroxine plus triiodothyronine in patients with hypothyroidism. N Engl J Med. 1999;340:424–9.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  53. Clyde PW, Harari AE, Getta EJ, et al. Combined levothyroxine plus liothyronine compared with levothyroxine alone in primary hypothyroidism. A randomized controlled trial. JAMA. 2003;290:2952–8.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  54. Cooper DS. Combined T4 and T3 therapy: back to the drawing board. JAMA. 2003;290:3002–4.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Military Medical Academy, Ehsan Abdelkadoos St. Abasseia, Cairo, Egypt

    Elnasser Elmaghraby MRC Psych

Authors
  1. Elnasser Elmaghraby MRC Psych
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Elnasser Elmaghraby MRC Psych .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Internal Medicine, Al-Mouwasat Hospital, Jubail, Saudi Arabia

    Syed Khalid Imam

  2. School of Science and Technology, Nottingham Trent University, Nottingham, United Kingdom

    Shamim I. Ahmad

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2016 Springer International Publishing Switzerland

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Elmaghraby, E. (2016). Thyroid Dysfunction and Mental Disorders. In: Imam, S., Ahmad, S. (eds) Thyroid Disorders. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-25871-3_15

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-25871-3_15

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-25869-0

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-25871-3

  • eBook Packages: MedicineMedicine (R0)

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation