Thyroid stimulation test in healthy subjects and psychiatric patients

Fifteen healthy women and 64 female psychiatric inpatients (major depression: 17, schizophrenia: 24, alcohol dependence: 9, and adjustment disorder: 14 cases) without identifiable thyroid dysfunction were investigated with the TRH test under comparable circumstances. Although all patient groups showed some tendency toward lower baseline TSH and smaller TRH-induced TSH responses, only patients with major depression demonstrated marked, statistically significant differences from controls in both variables. Women with alcohol dependence (in the early withdrawal period) showed significantly decreased TSH responses to TRH but only a weak tendency to lower basal TSH levels. Intergroup differences in the TSH response remained significant after correction for basal TSH by analysis of covariance. Neither variables correlated significantly with age, weight or body height, but baseline TSH correlated with body surface. The TRH test, using only 0.2 mg TRH for stimulation, seemed to be useful for identifying major depression and showed that early withdrawal from alcohol may be a factor to be considered in similar studies.