Page 42 - JCBP-1-2

Journal of Clinical and
Basic Psychosomatics Thyroid hormones and psychiatric disorders

these hormone levels differed between patients who had maximum of 47.81. Among these participants, 59.2% of
attempted suicide and those who had not. patients were classified as overweight (BMI >25), while
28.8% fell into the obesity range (BMI >29.9). Patients were
2. Materials and methods not categorized by metabolic syndrome.

2.1. Participants Data on the clinical characteristics of patients and
This retrospective, cross-sectional, electronic, and data- their thyroid parameter values (TT3, TT4, and TSH) were
based study was conducted through a review of medical acquired from the hospital’s electronic medical database.
documentation from the Psychiatric Hospital Sveti Ivan All participants were informed about the objectives of the
for the period spanning January 2016 to March 2017. research and provided their consent. The Hospital’s Ethical
A total of 118 adult psychiatric inpatients were included in Committee approved the research.
this study. Selection criteria were based on the availability
of laboratory test results for TT3 (total triiodothyronine), 2.2. Methods
TT4 (total thyroxine), and TSH. 2.2.1. Determining TT3, TT4 and TSH

Of the study participants, 83.1% were women. The Blood samples for thyroid hormone and TSH determination
average age of participants was 42.59 years (SD = 16.03). were collected from patients on their admission to the
Patients known to have pre-existing thyroid disorders or hospital in the morning, following a standard routine
undergoing thyroid-targeted medication were excluded procedure. These samples were collected using a glass tube
from the sample. without the anticoagulant (6 ml). After resting at room
Participants were divided into groups based on their temperature for 30 min, the blood sample was centrifuged
ICD-10 primary diagnoses as follows: Psychotic disorder at 3500 rpm for 10 min. The thyroid hormones and the TSH
(29.9%, n = 35), depressive disorder (20.5%, n = 24), were quantified using the chemiluminescent immunoassay
bipolar affective disorder (10.3%, n = 12), personality (CLIA) method on the Acces 2 Immunoassay System
disorder (6.8%, n = 8), schizoaffective disorder (Beckman Coulter, USA) with the manufacturer’s reagent.
(6.8%, n = 8), reactive states (6.8%, n = 8), anxious The reference range, recommended by the device and
disorder (6.8%, n = 8), addiction (3.4%, n = 4), delusive reagent manufacturer and verified according to the CLSI
[45]
disorder (3.4%, n = 4), somatoform disorder (2.5%, C28-A3 protocol for reference range validation, was used .
n = 3), dementias (1.7%, n = 2), and organic affective The coefficient of variation (CV%) for determining the
disorder (1.7%, n = 2). concentration of the TT3 is 3.31% at a concentration of
Participants were further stratified based on whether 1.2 nmol/L and 3.83% at a control sample concentration
they had a history of suicide attempts (6.8%, n = 8) or not. of 2.72 nmol/L. For TT4, it is 2.96% at a concentration of
Among those who had attempted suicide, the primary 61 nmol/L and 3.66% at a concentration of 149 nmol/L.
psychiatric diagnoses included depressive disorder (n = 3), The CV% for determining the concentration of TSH is
anxious disorder (n = 2), reactive states (n = 2), and 2.78% at a concentration of 0.35 mIU/L and 1.56% at a
schizoaffective disorder (n = 1). concentration of 5.26 mIU/L.
Given that the majority of participants were diagnosed 2.2.2. Statistical analysis
with psychotic disorders, depressive disorders, and bipolar
affective disorders, these groups were selected as the The statistical analysis was conducted using SPSS
primary focus for comparing thyroid parameter levels. version 20.0. The normality of the distribution of thyroid
parameters was assessed using the Kolmogorov–Smirnov
Regarding medication usage, 56.8% of participants test. Non-parametric tests, including the Chi-square test,
were on antidepressants, 46.6% were on mood stabilizers, Kruskal–Wallis test, and Mann–Whitney U test, were
87.3% were on antipsychotic medications, and 59.3% were employed to compare data across different diagnostic
on anxiolytics and hypnotics.
groups. The association between age and thyroid parameter
A healthy control group, consisting of 20 volunteers values was examined using Spearman’s correlation
(13 female and seven male) who were all employees of the coefficient. The significance level was set at P ≤ 0.05.
hospital, was used for comparison. The average age of this
control group was 41.20 years (SD = 15.840). 3. Results
The average value of body mass index (BMI) is 26.44 The difference in TT3 values among participants showed
(SD = 5.636), which falls within the overweight category. statistical significance across diagnostic groups (Kruskal–
BMI values ranged from a minimum of 17.92 to a Wallis test, χ = 16.693, P = 0.001) (Table 1).
2

Volume 1 Issue 2 (2023) 3 https://doi.org/10.36922/jcbp.1130