Thyroid status and the depressed elderly.

Although many studies have been devoted to linking thyroid status and depression, the results have been conflicting. This review concerns types of depression and suggests a paradigm that could encompass the role of the thyroid in aging and depression. Also discussed are thyroid function and its modification in the treatment of depression. Special precautions should be taken with the use of tricyclic antidepressants and with the enhanced cardiotoxic effects when combined with certain thyroid factors in the treatment of depression alone in the elderly.