Abstract
Full Article (FREE DOWNLOAD)
SMJS Volume 1 Issue 2, Page 16 – Page 21
DEPRESSION AND ADHERENCE TO LEVOTHYROXINE AMONG PATIENTS WITH HYPOTHYROIDISM IN TABUK, SAUDI ARABIA
Hyder Osman Mirghani, Hamad Albalawi, Handar Ahemd Alamrani, Thamer Awad Alatawi, Mohammed Salem Alshehri, Abdulrahman Mustafa Toonisi, Abdulaziz Ahmed Mebhi
Background: Hypothyroidism is prevalent worldwide, levothyroxine acts at a cellular level leading to a wide range of physical and psychological disorders. Medication adherence is vital for thyroid hormone stimulating hormone normalization and resolution of symptoms. The current study aimed to assess depression and adherence to levothyroxine among patients with hypothyroidism.
Subjects and Methods: This cross-sectional study conducted among 229 participants attending an Endocrine clinic in King Fahd Specialist Hospital from October 2019 to February 2020. A structured questionnaire based on demographic data and the HADS depression scale was used. Participants signed written informed consent, then responded to the questionnaire. The Ethical Committee of the Medical College approved the research. All the participants signed a written informed consent and the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) (IBM, version 20, New York was used for data analysis.
Results: There were 229 patients (76% females), their mean age was 33.99±11.25 years, 63% were married. The majority (95.3%) received higher education, and 41.3% were not compliant with their medications. In the current study, 41.6% of patients with hypothyroidism were depressed, with borderline, moderate, and severe depression observed in 30.4%, 27.1%, and 14.5% respectively. Adherence to thyroxine was associated with improvement of depressive symptomatology, P-value <0.05.
Conclusion: Depression and non-adherence to levothyroxine were prevalent among patients with hypothyroidism in Tabuk City, those who were non-adherent to thyroxine therapy showed less improvement in depression symptoms. Further larger multi-center studies assessing barriers to levothyroxine intake are needed.
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To cite this article: Mirghani HO, Albalawi H, Alamrani HA, Alatawi TA, Alshehri MS, Toonisi AM, Mebhi AA. Depression And Adherence To Levothyroxine Among Patients With Hypothyroidism In Tabuk, Saudi Arabia. Saudi Med J Students. 2020;1(2): 16-21
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