Patients with depression, anxiety, and psychiatric illnesses often have abnormal levels of thyroid hormones in their blood, and treating the problem can lead to worsening mood, memory, and cognitive function, writes The New York Times. North Shore-Long Island Jewish Health System psychiatrist Russell Joffe and his colleagues found that treating underlying hypothyroidism, which affects about 2% of Americans, could improve some patients' psychiatric problems and even prevent cognitive decline. Many reasons can lead to thyroid dysfunction, which becomes more common with age. Too much thyroid hormone speeds up your metabolism, which can cause sweating, palpitations, weight loss and anxiety. A lack of these hormones can cause fatigue, weight gain and lethargy, as well as depression, inability to concentrate and memory problems. Doctors have long debated whether thyroid problems or psychiatric symptoms come first. According to Brown University Dr. Jennifer Davis, patients with thyroid problems are often misdiagnosed as having psychiatric conditions. Some doctors believe that patients with emotional disturbances and hidden forms of hypothyroidism should be treated with thyroid hormones. However, endocrinologists argue about the need to treat hidden hypothyroidism. On the one hand, such treatment can increase the workload of the heart and lead to complications with osteoporosis in women, notes Dr. Joffe. On the other hand, if left untreated, the disease can also increase stress on the heart and, according to some studies, increase the risk of Alzheimer's disease and other forms of dementia. Women are much more likely to develop thyroid problems than men, especially after age 50, and some experts believe that reluctance to treat hidden forms of the disease is partly due to gender reasons: "There is a terrible prejudice against women coming to the doctor with "Minor emotional complaints are usually ignored or attributed to stress or anxiety," admits Dr. Davis. Another difficulty is that many experts are unclear about what level of thyroid hormones should be considered “normal,” the publication continues. "A patient may have a TSH level of 5, which many doctors consider not high enough to cause any symptoms. However, if a person initially had a TSH level of about 0.5, then 5 means a tenfold increase in TSH, and for that person this may be disease,” notes Dr. James Hennesy, head of the department of clinical endocrinology at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston, who believes that patients with TSH from 5 to 10, especially with psychiatric disorders, should be treated with thyroid drugs.