Abstract
Objective
This study aimed to compare childhood trauma exposure, post-traumatic stress symptoms, and general psychopathology among patients with Hashimoto’s thyroiditis (HT), non-autoimmune hypothyroidism (NAIH), and controls, and to explore whether thyroid autoimmunity plays a specific role in trauma-related psychopathology.
Methods
A total of 120 participants were evaluated: 40 with HT, 41 with NAIH, and 39 controls. All completed standardized psychiatric assessments – the Clinician-Administered PTSD Scale, Childhood Trauma Questionnaire, and Brief Symptom Inventory. Thyroid function and anti-thyroid peroxidase (anti-TPO) levels were obtained from hospital records.
Results
Both HT and NAIH showed significantly higher post-traumatic stress and general psychopathology scores than controls (p < .002). Childhood adversity was most pronounced in HT, followed by NAIH and controls. Emotional neglect was markedly higher in HT compared with both NAIH and controls (p < .05). In both patient groups, trauma scores correlated positively with post-traumatic stress and psychopathology measures (r = 0.35–0.65, p < .01), whereas no significant relationship was observed between anti-TPO levels and psychiatric scales.
Conclusions
Childhood adversity, particularly emotional neglect, was most evident in HT, yet both hypothyroid groups exhibited increased trauma-related and psychopathological symptoms. As autoimmunity was assessed only by anti-TPO levels, these findings should be interpreted cautiously and examined in future studies using broader immunological markers.
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Supplementary Material
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