From the Wall Street Journal: More than 100 medical disorders can masquerade as psychological conditions. Studies have suggested that medical conditions may cause mental-health issues in as many as 25% of psychiatic patients and contribute to them in more than 75%. Diabetes, lupus and Lyme disease can have a variety of psychiatric symptoms, as can mercury and lead poisoning and sexually transmitted diseases.

From the Wall Street Journal

Confusing Medical Ailments With Mental Illness 

Health Journal, by Melinda Beck

August 9, 2011

An elderly woman’s sudden depression turns out to be a side effect of her high blood-pressure medication.

A new mother’s exhaustion and disinterest in her baby seem like postpartum depression—but actually signal a postpartum thyroid imbalance that medication can correct.

A middle-aged manager has angry outbursts at work and frequently feels “ready to explode.” A brain scan reveals temporal-lobe seizures, a type of epilepsy that can be treated with surgery or medication.

More than 100 medical disorders can masquerade as psychological conditions, according to Harvard psychiatrist Barbara Schildkrout, who cited these examples among others in “Unmasking Psychological Symptoms,” a book aimed at helping therapists broaden their diagnostic skills.

Studies have suggested that medical conditions may cause mental-health issues in as many as 25% of psychiatric patients and contribute to them in more than 75%.

Untangling cause and effect can challenge even seasoned clinicians, and the potential for missed diagnoses is growing these days, said Dr. Schildkrout, who has more than 25 years of clinical practice in the Boston area. Most mental-health counselors rely on primary-care doctors to spot medical issues, but those physicians are increasingly time-pressed and may not know their patients well. Neither do the psychiatrists who mainly write prescriptions and see patients only briefly, she said in an interview.

Common culprits include under- or over-active thyroid glands, which can cause depression and anxiety, respectively. Deficiencies of vitamins D, B-12 and folate, as well as hormonal changes and sleep disorders have also been linked to depression.

Diabetes, lupus and Lyme disease can have a variety of psychiatric symptoms, as can mercury and lead poisoning and sexually transmitted diseases. Many medications also list mood changes among their side effects, and substance abuse is notorious for causing psychiatric problems.

Some underlying conditions are readily treatable. Others, such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease and some brain tumors, are not. But a correct diagnosis can save months or years of frustration and ineffective treatment.

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