Associação entre hormônios tireoideanos e temperamento

Abstract

Temperament is the automatic emotional and motivational bias, influencing mood, behavior and personality development. Thyroid dysfunction is more prevalent in patients with mood disorder and may interfere with treatment responsiveness, but the relationship between thyroid function and temperament has been less studied. Methods: 143 subjects (103 females) who completed the Combined Emotional and Affective Temperament Scale were evaluated for TSH, free T4 and free T3 levels. Results: There was a significantly higher proportion of cyclothymics than euthymics in the high TSH group (>4 mIU/L, p<0.05). Female volunteers with TSH<4 mIU/L had significantly higher scores for anxious and lower scores for irritable temperaments. Among volunteers with TSH<4 mIU/L, there was a positive correlation of free T4 with apathetic temperament score (r=0.23, p<0.01). This correlation persisted in males (r=0.33, p=0.037) and females (r=0.22, p=0=0.026) and if only volunteers with no medication at all were included (r=0.23, p=0.015, n=108). Conclusion: Thyroid hormones seem to be associated with temperament in a non-linear way. Findings in patients with mood disorders and subclinical hypothyroidism cannot be generalized to understand the physiological role of thyroid hormones on emotion and affect.