Subclinical hypothyroidism resulting from autoimmune thyroiditis in female patients with endogenous depression.

Thyroid function and presence of thyroid autoantibodies were assessed in a group of 75 consecutive female patients with mood disturbances and in a group of 38 healthy women of similar age recruited as controls. Nine patients suffered from major (endogenous) depression and 66 from minor (neurotic) depression. The individual patients had normal values of circulating thyroid hormones. Nevertheless, endogenously depressed patients had total serum triiodothyronine (M±SE=1.49±0.09 nmol/l) and both total (83.9±4.3 nmol/l) and free serum thyroxine (13.9±1.1 pmol/l) lower than in the group of minor depressed and in the group of controls (p<0.01, in both comparison). The median value of serum thyrotr…