Nearly 27 Million Americans have thyroid disease. Most of them are women. They are seven times more likely to get this disease than men. There are several causes for this disease. But all the causes lead to malfunction of a vital organ called thyroid in our body. This organ secretes hormones and has access to almost all the parts of the body. There are ample evidences which suggest that hormones play an important role in depression. And it is a known fact that women are twice more likely to get depressed than men. So is their a relation between Thyroid Disease and Depression ? This article tries to gain further insight.

What is Thyroid Disease ?

The thyroid is a small organ located in the lower part of neck. It secretes hormones. Hormones are chemical substances which are naturally produced in the body. They help organs to carry out their functions effectively. The process of secretion can be either production or separation of a chemical substance from getting dissolved with other body parts. The hormones produced by thyroid gland provide energy to different parts of the body. When this organ do not produce required amount of hormones or produces them in excess, a person gets Thyroid Disease. In a person suffering from Thyroid disease, the energy in his body is used up either very slowly or quickly. Because it is the organ thyroid which uses the hormones and converts the food we eat in to energy and stores it for future requirements accordingly.

Relationship between Thyroid Disease and Depression: Thyroid Disease has two forms. They are Hyperthyroidism and Hypothyroidism. In the former case, the body produces excess of Thyroid hormone than it is required by the body. In hypothyroidism, hormones are produced very less when compared to the requirement of the body. In such stage, the body gets little supply of energy and functions slowly. One of the symptoms of hypothyroidism is depression.

These diseases are commonly treated as separate diseases. But the symptoms of them overlap each other. It results in both the diseases remain undiagnosed in their initial stages by the patients and the doctors. Depression is more pronounced in Hypothyroidism patients. Blood tests can be carried out to confirm the presence of this disease in a depressed individual. Research studies reveal that the treatment taken for hypothyroidism is effective in treating depression too.