Prevalence of hypothyroidism in the first trimester pregnancy in primigravida in North India

Abstract

Introduction and Objectives: Hypothyroidism is a common and important occurrence during pregnancy. Untreated or undertreated hypothyroidism is seen to be associated with number of deleterious effects ranging from miscarriage, stillbirth to implication on intellectual development of the child. Different studies have shown variation in prevalence of hypothyroidism in pregnant population in their reports. Materials and Methods: This study was conducted with the objective of finding out the prevalence of hypothyroidism in pregnant women presenting to hospital for routine ANC (Anti-natal care) visit. Two hundred and fifty pregnant women presenting in first trimester of pregnancy were included in this study. Primigravida with singleton pregnancy were selected to form the study group. TSH, FT3, and FT4 were estimated by manual ELISA. Level of 4.5 mIU/L was used as cut off to diagnose hypothyroidism. Values more than 4.5mIU/L were considered as hypothyroid. Results: Fifteen out of total two hundred and fifty study subjects showed hypothyroidism as their TSH level was found to be >4.5 mIU/L (6% prevalence). FT4 level assessment was done in these cases to differentiate subclinical hypothyroidism from overt hypothyroidism. FT4 level below 8.5 pmol/L was considered as overt hypothyroidism and levels above 8.5pmol/L was considered as subclinical hypothyroidism. Conclusion: Duration/trimester of pregnancy, gravida status, socioeconomic status, all have possible role in deciding the prevalence of hypothyroidism in pregnant population. Keywords: Subclinical hypothyroidism, Overt hypothyroidism.