RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THYROID DISEASE AND MOST COMMON PSYCHOLOGICAL PROBLEMS IN KSA: A SURVEY STUDY

Background:Mental disorders are known to merge with thyroid disease and some literature related some psychological changes to thyroid disease such as depression and anxiety. The current research aimed to determine the relationship between thyroid disease and most common psychological disorders in KSA. Methods:The current study aims to determine the relationship between thyroid disease and the most common psychological problems among population in KSA. The most suitable design is cross-sectional survey study. It was descriptive and correlational study. This enables the researcher to measure the effect and the outcome at a single point of time. This study design gives reliable results with short time and less effort. The study was conducted at (place). The participants were selected during October 2022. This study included adults aged 19 years or more via non-probability convenient sampling technique at a confidence level of 95% using Epi Info software equation. Results:Of 1038 participants included in the study, there were 180 participants only who suffered from thyroid disease. This gives a prevalence of (17.3%) thyroid disease among study participants. Thyroid disease was more prevalent among female participants (P<0.0001) and among more than 40 years age group (P<0.0001). Table 1 shows the distribution of thyroid disease according to gender and age groups. The duration since diagnosis was since more than 5 years (n= 78, 43.3%). The diagnosis was hypothyroidism among most of patients (n= 154, 85.6%). The vast majority of study participants of thyroid disease reported having personality changes after the diagnosis (n= 140, 77.8%). The most frequent change was disorder in weight in terms of increase and decrease (n= 69, 38.3%). And this was more prevalent among females (P= 0.035). Conclusion:Study showed that quarter of participants suffered from thyroid disease, mainly hypothyroidism. The most frequent personality change was weight disturbances and was more common among female participants. Other reported psychological changes were depression, anxiety and personality changes. Participants was told that these symptoms are related to their thyroid condition.