International Journal of Medical and Health Research

Authors
Dr. Santosh Kumar, Dr. Abha Kumari

Abstract
Background: Depression is a major health problem worldwide. It is estimated to be the second major burden for health issues by 2020 and 2030. It has been estimated that 350 million people worldwide are affected by depression. Light therapy is found to be advantageous for winter depression. Patients with depression have been documented with a dysfunctional hypothalamus-pituitary-thyroid axis. The aim of present study is to determine the levels of vitamin D, T3, T4 and TSH amongst patients suffering from depression and to establish the presence of absence of any relation between depression and levels of above mentioned hormones. Materials and methods: All the patients who were diagnosed with unipolar depressive syndrome aged between 18 years- 50 years were included in the study. Only patients reporting for the first time and not taking antidepressants were involved in the study. Patients having any prior thyroid disorder, diabetes or hypertension were not included in the study. Blood samples of all the patients were collected from anticubital vein under complete aseptic conditions by a trained nurse. T3 and T4 were detected using competitive solid ELISA (enzyme linked immunosorbent assay).TSH was estimated using monoclonal antibodies. Vitamin D was estimated by a competitive test, where vitamin D of patient’s serum competes with biotin Vitamin D conjugate ( that was added simultaneously) for antivitamin D antibodies binding sites. The data was arranged in a tabulated form and student t test was applied to determine the significance. SPSS software was used for analysis. Results: Mean levels of T3 amongst control was 118.4+/- 28.9 ng/dl and that amongst patients of minor depression was 74.9+/- 18.9 ng/dl. Patients with moderate depression had mean levels of 42.5+/- 23.4 ng/dl and patients of severe depression had mean levels of 44.3+/- 20.8 ng/dl. The p value was less than 0.05. Mean levels of T4 amongst control was 11.02+/- 2.43 ug/dl and that amongst patients of minor depression was 6.89+/- 1.97 ug/dl. Patients with moderate depression had mean levels of 6.60+/- 3.30 ug/dl and patients of severe depression had mean levels of 5.84+/- 2.85 ug/dl. The p value was more than 0.05. Mean levels of TSH amongst control was 4.21+/- 0.83 uU/ml and that amongst patients of minor depression was 3.67+/- 1.01 uU/ml. Patients with moderate depression had mean levels of 2.54+/- 0.99 uU/ml and patients of severe depression had mean levels of 2.89+/- 1.32 uU/ml. The p value was more than 0.05. Mean levels of calcitriol amongst control was 94.76+/- 32.11 nmol/L and that amongst patients of minor depression was 70.86+/- 27.21 nmol/L. Patients with moderate depression had mean levels of 69.48+/- 21.08 nmol/L and patients of severe depression had mean levels of 59.13+/- 18.53 nmol/L. The p value was more than 0.05. Conclusion: T3 levels are lower in patients of depression which could further lead to subclinical hypothyroidism. The role of Vitamin D amongst depressive patients still remains controversial.