Symptoms of subclinical hypothyroidism include depression, memory loss, myocardial contractility disorder, lipid metabolic disorder, and atherosclerosis. However, the relationship between subclinical hypothyroidism and depression has not been consistent. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to provide the scientific evidence for the relationship between subclinical hypothyroidism and depression. Methods: This study was a meta-analysis of depression in subjects with subclinical

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... . The search engine of PubMed, EBSCO, ScienceDirect, and RISS was used to search the studies published since the 1990s. A total of 176 documents were retrieved from the literature search, and finally 10 studies were included in the analysis. Statistical analysis of effect sizes was performed using Comprehensive Meta-Analysis software version 2.2.064. Results: Of the 10 studies, five studies reported that depression was associated with subclinical hypothyroidism. Two of these studies were on women and two were on the elderly. The effect size of depression in patients with subclinical hypothyroidism was 3.46 (95% confidence interval 0.20-0.74, P=0.001), and the subclinical hypothyroidism was significantly associated with depression. Conclusions: This study showed that subclinical hypothyroidism is associated with depression. The results also suggest the need for regular screening of depressive symptoms of patients with subclinical hypothyroidism. Especially, elderly and women with subclinical hypothyroidism may be the main targets of depressive symptom. 서 론 불현성 갑상선기능저하증(subclinical hypothyroidism)은 혈 청 갑상선호르몬은 정상범위이나 갑상선자극호르몬(thyroid-stimulating hormone, TSH)이 정상범위보다 증가된 상태로 정의되며, 1) 경미한 갑상선기능부전 혹은 무증상 갑상선기능 저하증이라고도 한다. 불현성 갑상선기능저하증은 일반 인 구의 3-8%에서 발견되며, 여성에게 흔하고 나이가 증가할 수록 유병률이 높아져 60세 이상 여성에서는 15-20%에서 발견되며, 특히 65세 이하의 subclinical hypothyroidism 환 자에게는 허혈성 심장질환과 밀접한 관련이 있으며, 높은 총 콜레스테롤 수치, 높은 저밀도콜레스테롤 수치, 높은 중성지 방 수치가 나타나며, 만성 신장질환 발병과도 관련이 있다. 2)