Causal Association Between Antidepressant Use and Thyroid Disease Risk: A Two-Sample Mendelian Randomization Study
Yingxian Ling, Qisong Chen · 2026
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Description
Yingxian Ling and Qisong Chen ask, in a 2026 study, whether antidepressant use itself raises the risk of thyroid disease, using genetics as a natural experiment. Observational reports link the drugs to thyroid trouble, but illness and treatment tangle together in such data. Mendelian randomization sidesteps much of that tangle: gene variants tied to antidepressant use stand in for the exposure, and their links to disease are read as causal evidence.
Thirteen variants served as instruments, strong enough to trust. Genetic liability to antidepressant use came with clearly higher odds of Hashimoto's thyroiditis, the autoimmune form, and a small but real rise in hypothyroidism. No link to thyroid cancer appeared. Checks for bias and one-at-a-time removal left the pattern intact. The authors suggest watching thyroid function in patients on these drugs, above all in those already at risk.
Catalog record
| CREATOR | Yingxian Ling, Qisong Chen |
|---|---|
| YEAR | 2026 |
| COLLECTION | PAPERS |
| FORMAT | TXT |
| FILE SIZE | 44 KB |
| VERSION | 1.0 |
| LICENSE | CC BY 4.0 |
| RIGHTS | CC BY |
| SOURCE | Europe PMC |