황은희1, 신수진2

1원광대학교 간호학과, 2이화여자대학교 간호대학

Background: Symptoms of subclinical hypothyroidism
include depression, memory loss, myocardial con￾tractility
disorder, lipid metabolic disorder, and atherosclerosis.
However, the relationship between subclinical
hypothyroidism and depression has not been consistent.
Therefore, the purpose of this study was to provide
the scientific evidence for the relationship between
subclinical hypothyroidism and depression.
Methods: This study was a meta-analysis of depression in
subjects with subclinical hypothyroidism. The search
engine of PubMed, EBSCO, ScienceDirect, and RISS was
used to search the studies published since the
1990s. A total of 176 documents were retrieved from the
literature search, and finally 10 studies were included
in the analysis. Statistical analysis of effect sizes was
performed using Comprehensive Meta-Analysis software
version 2.2.064.
Results: Of the 10 studies, five studies reported that
depression was associated with subclinical hypothyroidism.
Two of these studies were on women and two were on the
elderly. The effect size of depression in patients with
subclinical hypothyroidism was 3.46 (95% confidence
interval 0.20-0.74, P=0.001), and the subclinical
hypo￾thyroidism was significantly associated with
depression.
Conclusions: This study showed that subclinical
hypothyroidism is associated with depression. The results
also
suggest the need for regular screening of depressive
symptoms of patients with subclinical hypothyroidism.
Especially, elderly and women with subclinical
hypothyroidism may be the main targets of depressive
symptom.
Korean J Health Promot 2018;18(1):32-41
Keywords: Hypothyroidism, Depression, Meta-analysis