This is why we recommend the screening for hypothyroidism in pregnant women

Abstract

Our aim is to highlight the benefits of screening for hypothyroidism in all pregnant women with and without risk factors. Patients and methods Prospective study, on 270 pregnant women. Women with disrupted thyroid balance, who smoke (active smoking confessed) and those followed for thyroid disease or taking medications that interfere with the thyroid gland were excluded. Study protocol: clinical examination, urinary iodine, thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH), free thyroxine (FT4), free triiodothyronine (FT3), peroxidase antibody (TPO-ab), thyroglobulin antibody (Tg-ab), and TSH receptor antibody (TSI), and cervical ultra-sonography. Statistics tests: collection of data on EPI INFO 5.1. Results The mean age of our patients was 29.4 ± 0.4years, 41.5% were nulliparous, 25.2% primiparous, 33.3% multiparous. Serum TSH level was normal in 77.8% of cases, FT4 in 88.5%, FT3 in 96.7%, two patients had a gestational transient hyperthyroidism, hypothyroidism concerned 11.5% of pregnant women (overt form in 3% and sub-clinical one in 8.5%). Of all hypothyroid patients, 35.5% had not any high risk factor for thyroid dysfunction. Discussion In light of our results, screening all pregnant women for hypothyroidism appears necessary even if it is still not recommended by the various scientific societies.