Efficacy of Melatonin on Nero-Psychiatric Symptoms of Elderly Patients with Hypothyroidism

Aim: In this study, it was aimed to investigate of the clinical efficacy of melatonin treatment on neuropsychiatric symptoms in elderly patients with hypothyroidism. Method: The study was conducted on 51 patients with hypothyroidism. The patients’ anxiety, depressive symptoms and sleep disturbance were recorded with the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS). The Patients were randomized into two groups. The first group of patients (25 patients) received standard replacement therapy with L-thyroxine and symptomatic therapy for 1 month. The second group of patients (26) received melatonin at a dose of 15 mg per night for 1 month (combination therapy) along with L-thyroxine. Results: There was a significant decrease in TSH levels after therapy in both groups. The decrease was more in the group who received combination therapy (82,2 ± 1,5% versus 66,1 ± 2,4%, respectively). Depressive state was significantly reduced only in the combination therapy group (10,9 ± 0,9 points versus 6,9 ± 0,5 points). Furthermore, in patients receiving melatonin there was a significant reduction in subclinical depression (13,2 ± 3,4% versus 7,7 ± 1,1%, p<0,05). Conclusion: Addition of melatonin to the standard therapy is effective in controlling depressive symptoms in patients with hypothyroidism living in Kazakhstan