The hypothalamic-pituitary-thyroid axis in agoraphobia, panic disorder, major depression and normal controls

Background: Much interest has been drawn to the investigation of the hypoth alamic-pituitary-thyroid (HPT)-axis in patients suffering from depression o r panic disorder. However, there is no data concerning agoraphobia. Methods : Patients with panic disorder, agoraphobia, major depression were compared to normal controls (total n = 88) in respect to HPT axis, obtaining basal TSH and administering a TRH test. Results: Normal controls and agoraphobics showed significantly higher Delta (max) TSH than depressives and panic pat ients. There were no differences between agoraphobics. and normal controls. Conclusions: Agoraphobia, unlike depression or panic disorder, seems to be less biologically determined in respect to the HPT-axis. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science BY All rights reserved.