Self-reported thyroid disease and mental disorder prevalence in the general population.

OBJECTIVE

Community studies have failed to confirm that biochemically assessed thyroid status is significantly associated with psychopathology. However, it has been reported that self-reported thyroid disease is associated with symptoms of depression and anxiety. The objective of the current study was to determine whether self-reported thyroid disease is associated with elevated mental disorder prevalence in the general population.

METHOD

Data from the Canadian Community Health Survey (CCHS) 1.2: Mental Health and Well-being were used. The CCHS 1.2 included the World Mental Health version of the Composite International Diagnostic Interview and collected self-report data about professionally diagnosed chronic medical conditions, including thyroid disease.

RESULTS

Twelve-month and lifetime mental disorder prevalence was higher in subjects with thyroid disease than in subjects reporting no chronic conditions. For each condition examined (major depressive disorder, bipolar disorder, panic disorder/agoraphobia and social phobia), the 12-month and lifetime prevalence in subjects with thyroid disease resembled that of an aggregate category of subjects having other chronic conditions. After adjustment for age, sex and other chronic conditions, only social phobia was found to be associated with thyroid disease.

CONCLUSIONS

People with thyroid disease are not a particularly high-need group for mental disorder screening or intervention, at least not in the community population.