PSYCHIATRIC DISORDERS ASSOCIATED WITH ENDOCRINE DYSFUNCTIONS

Abstract

Introduction: Psychiatric disorders occurring during endocrine dysfunction and, conversely, endocrine dysfunctions associated with mental disorders were the emergence of a new discipline, psychoendocrinology. Psychiatric disorders correlated with endocrine diseases are defined as psychopathological manifestations of variable intensity and clinical symptomatology, determined by complex psycho-neuro-endocrinological interrelationships. Defining elements consist of the association between diagnosis of mental disorders and specific symptoms for endocrine dysfunction. Methods: We conducted a prospective one-year study (January 2018 - December 2018 on 112 patients hospitalized in the Clinic of Psychiatry who also had an endocrinological comorbidity. We investigated the frequency and severity of psychoendocrinological associations by studying a number of demographic and clinical items. Results: The results showed that the highest incidence belongs to thyroid disorder - 55.36%, followed by gonadal disorders - 24.11%, and, rarely, pituitary diseases and diabetes. Hyperthyroidism was associated most frequently with manic episodes, while unipolar depression prevailed in patients with hypothyroidism. In gonadal disorders, present in majority in female patients (secondary amenorrhea, menopause or erectile dysfunction in males), depression accompanied by anxiety, often severe in intensity, was the most frequent psychiatric diagnosis. Psychotic disorders were met in a smaller number of cases, especially in patients with long history of endocrine disorders and instability of biological constants. Conclusions: We may state that affective disorders are the most frequent nosologically category in patients with endocrine dysfunctions. It requires a better collaboration between specialists in endocrinology and psychiatry, to highlight the determinants which contribute to the development of psychopathological manifestations in endocrine diseases and to individualize the treatment depending on cases’ particularities.