Emotional Factors in Gravesʼ Disease

Thyroid "Hot Spots": A Psychophysiological Study

“…13 ) There is likewise a clear similarity between those personality characteristics and the ones we have de-scribed in our clinical study of the thyroid hot-spot patients. (See the concise summary by Mandelbrote and Wittkower, page 115.…”

“…Especially noteworthy are the reports by Lewis, 1 ' 2 Mittelmann, 3 Conrad, 4 Brown and Gildea, 5 Lidz, 6 ' 7 Lidz and Whitehorn, 8 . 13 These investigators have demonstrated a fairly consistent picture of psychological dysfunction in sufferers from Graves' disease that long antedates the onset of clinical symptoms and often may be traced back into childhood. 13 These investigators have demonstrated a fairly consistent picture of psychological dysfunction in sufferers from Graves' disease that long antedates the onset of clinical symptoms and often may be traced back into childhood.…”

Life events, daily stresses and coping in patients with Graves' disease

“…In Graves' disease, the occurrence of stressful life events preceding the onset of hyperthyroidism was noted in Parry's initial report, and subsequently by Graves, Basedow and others. The relation between stressful life events and hyperthyroidism was later confirmed by some studies but refuted by others (Bestenie, 1947;Means, 1948;Meulengracht 1949;Lidz & Whitehorn 1950;Mandelbrote & Wittkower 1955;Bennett & Cambor, 1961;Forteza, 1973;Hadden & McDevitt 1974). The failure to obtain a consistent correlation may be attributable to methodological problems.…”

Some approaches to psychosomatic clinical research*

“…Wittkower, who years ago (1938) was giving detailed descriptive accounts of the psychopathology of ulcerative colitis and later attempted a careful and controlled study of personality in patients with thyrotoxicosis (Mandelbrote & Wittkower, 1955), has now turned more to epidemiological and transcultural studies (Wittkower et af., 1967). Lipowski (1967) almost altogether writes off the concept of psychosomatic disorder as being a useful one for the clinician.…”