Background and study aim: Currently, the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic represents a major threat to the ‎health and social life of human beings. National quarantine was one of the tools to manage the ‎dramatic increased spread and deaths of COVID-19. We aimed to detect the alterations of ‎thyroid function and psychological consequences among Egyptian patients with ‎hypothyroidism during COVID-19 related quarantine‎‎.
Patients and Method: ‎ A longitudinal observational study was conducted at the endocrine outpatient clinic of ‎Mansoura University Hospital, Egypt during the period from March to August 2020. 160 ‎Egyptian patients with pre-existing primary hypothyroidism were included. Patients with ‎properly compensated thyroid function and without depression symptoms were enrolled. ‎Patients with proven, suspected COVID-19 or prior depression were excluded. After ethical ‎approval and consent, sequential follow-up visits in March, June, and August 2020 were ‎scheduled. Clinical history, examination, and laboratory assessment of thyroid function were ‎applied regularly. Depression was evaluated via the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) ‎scale‎.‎
Results: Among 160 participants with a mean age of 42.34 and a female proportion of 70.6%, TSH was ‎positively correlated with the grade of depression and PHQ-9 score (p < 0.001). We noticed a ‎progressively increased prevalence of mild depression; from 3.8% (June 2020) to 14.4% ‎‎(August 2020)‎‎‎‎‎.
Conclusion: During the lockdown period of COVID-19, Egyptian patients with pre-existing ‎hypothyroidism experienced a progressively increased prevalence of mild depression‎ ‎‎‎‎‎.