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Review
. 2022 Mar 24;15(4):391.
doi: 10.3390/ph15040391.

Depression and Autoimmune Hypothyroidism-Their Relationship and the Effects of Treating Psychiatric and Thyroid Disorders on Changes in Clinical and Biochemical Parameters Including BDNF and Other Cytokines-A Systematic Review

Zofia Kotkowska  1 , Dominik Strzelecki  1
Affiliations
Review

Depression and Autoimmune Hypothyroidism-Their Relationship and the Effects of Treating Psychiatric and Thyroid Disorders on Changes in Clinical and Biochemical Parameters Including BDNF and Other Cytokines-A Systematic Review

Zofia Kotkowska et al. Pharmaceuticals (Basel). .

Abstract

Various autoimmune diseases, including autoimmune hypothyroidism (AHT), are associated with a higher risk of developing mood disorders throughout life. Depression is accompanied by the changes in the levels of inflammatory and trophic factors, including interleukins (IL-1beta, IL-2, IL-6), interferon alpha (IFN-alpha), tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-alpha), C-reactive protein (CRP), and brain derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF). Disclosure of the relationship between the coexistence of depression and AHT indicates that the pathomechanism of depression may be related to the changes in the immune system, it is also possible that both conditions may be caused by the same immune processes. The above hypothesis is indirectly supported by the observations that the treatment with both antidepressants and levothyroxine leads to a decrease in the levels of proinflammatory cytokines with an increase in BDNF concentrations, simultaneously correlating with an improvement in the clinical parameters. However, so far there are no long-term studies determining the causal relationship between depression, thyroid autoantibodies, and cytokine profile, which could bring us closer to understanding the interrelationships between them and facilitate the use of an adequate pharmacotherapy, not necessarily psychiatric. We consider the above issues to be insufficiently investigated but of great importance. This article is an overview of the available literature as well as an introduction to our research project.

Keywords: BDNF; chronic autoimmune hypothyroidism; depression; systematic review.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
PRISMA flow chart of studies selection.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Potential mechanisms of relation between depressive symptoms and selected drugs and their influence on the values of selected hormonal and inflammatory parameters.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Overview of potential pathomechanisms associated with depression and thyroid dysfunction.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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