Background: The association between depression and thyroid disorders are studied extensively but still remains disputable. Hence, the current study was designed to estimate the proportion of thyroid dysfunction among depressive patients and also to study their association. Material and Methods: This was a hospital based cross sectional study done in a tertiary care centre in rural Puducherry. Eighty eligible patients with depression of any severity were included. They were interviewed with structured pretested questionnaire. The Hamilton Depression Rating Scale was used to measure the level of severity of depression. Thyroid functions test was carried out. Ethical principles were adhered throughout the study. SPSS version 24.0 was used for analysis and Chi-square test was used to find out association between severity of depression and thyroid status. Results: Of 80 depressed participants 45% were more than 45 years, females (72.5%) were the maximum and so 35% were homemakers. Participants belonging to upper middle socio-economic class were the majority (42.5%) and 65% were from rural area. Of the study participants 60, (75%) had normal thyroid function tests, one (5%) had hyperthyroid state and the remaining 19 (95%) had hypothyroidism. Among the depressed patients 67.5% had mild to moderate depression and 32.5% had severe depression. Increasing age and hypothyroid status were statistically associated. Conclusions: Majority of the depressed patients had moderate level of severity and hypothyroidism was the most common thyroid abnormality identified. Increasing age and hypothyroid status were associated with depression. Periodic screening of depressed patients for thyroid abnormality is recommended.

Keywords: Association; Depression; Hypothyroid; Screening.