Korean Journal of Biological Psychiatry (생물정신의학)

The Korean Society of Biological Psychiatry (대한생물정신의학회)
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Association between Thyroid Dysfunction and Severity, Treatment Response in Schizophrenic Inpatients

조현병 입원 환자에서의 갑상샘 기능이상과 증상 심각도, 치료 반응과의 관계

  • Jung, Mee-Jool (Department of Psychiatry, Chuncheon National Hospital) ;
  • Hwang, Hyun-Kuk (Departments of Clinical Psychology, Chuncheon National Hospital) ;
  • Seo, Yung-Eun (Department of Psychiatry, Chuncheon National Hospital) ;
  • Choi, Jong-Hyuk (Department of Psychiatry, Chuncheon National Hospital)
  • 정미줄 (국립춘천병원 정신건강의학과) ;
  • 황현국 (국립춘천병원 임상심리학과) ;
  • 서영은 (국립춘천병원 정신건강의학과) ;
  • 최종혁 (국립춘천병원 정신건강의학과)
  • Received : 2018.12.07
  • Accepted : 2019.04.01
  • Published : 2019.04.30
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Abstract

Objectives Thyroid hormone deficiency during the neurodevelopmental period can impair brain development and induce psychiatric symptoms. This study examined the association between thyroid dysfunction and the severity of symptoms in schizophrenia patients, and the treatment response of patients with schizophrenia. Methods Three hundred thirty-eight schizophrenia patients, with no prior history of thyroid disease or taking medication associated with it, were studied. We assessed the blood thyroid hormone level, the Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS) scores on the day of admission and discharge, admission period, dose of administered antipsychotics, and the number of antipsychotic combinations. The collected data were subsequently analyzed using the Kruskal-Wallis test and Pearson's chi-square test. Results The percentage of schizophrenia patients who presented with abnormal thyroid hormone level was 24.6%. High total triiodothyronine (TT3) (p = 0.003), low TT3 (p = 0.001), and high free thyroxine (fT4) (p < 0.001) groups showed a higher BPRS score on admission than did the normal thyroid hormone group, while thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) levels were not significantly correlated with the severity of symptoms. Furthermore, thyroid hormone was not associated with the treatment response assessed by the rate of BPRS score reduction, admission days, use of clozapine, and dose of antipsychotics. Conclusions The TT3 and fT4 hormone levels were significantly associated with the severity of symptoms in schizophrenia patients. These relations suggested that thyroid dysfunction may be associated with the severity of schizophrenia. And hence, further analysis of the results of the thyroid function test, which is commonly used in cases of psychiatric admission, is required.

Keywords

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