Psychological Changes and Psychogenesis in Thyroid Hormone Disorders1

Abstract

Twenty-four thyrotoxic patients were compared with 15 euthyroid and 11 hypothyroid subjects to determine the incidence of psychological factors allegedly etiologic in Graves' disease. Guided interviewing was employed to elicit information. Methods of arriving at judgments are spelled out in detail. No evidence was found to support the hypotheses which have been advanced in the literature. Heuristic difficulties in the evaluation of such hypotheses are discussed. Attention is drawn to the prevalence of symptoms of insomnia and increased distractibility in our thyrotoxic group.