THYROID STATUS IN WOMEN OF REPRODUCTIVE AGE LIVING UNDER MILD IODINE DEFICIENCY CONDITIONS

Abstract

Purpose. This study aimed to examine thyroid picture in twenty-five women of reproductive age (18-35 years old, mean age 27.28 ±0.23 yrs) living in conditions of moderate iodine deficiency but being not diagnosed with obvious thyroid.
 Materials and Methods. A Beckman Coulter Dx1800 analyzer was applied to perform a serum marker test for thyroid gland performance level with the immunochemiluminescent method using paramagnetic particles. A Toshiba Aplio 500 unit was used for thyroid gland ultrasound examination with a linear sensor.
 Results. The pituitary-thyroid analysis showed no severe impairment in the examined women. Of all the 25 subjects, 8 women (32%) reported a normally high level of TSH (2.0–4.2 mME/L), which may indicate minimal thyroid insufficiency seen in its early, mild stage. We analyzed the content of hormones depending on the TSH variables, and found a statistically significant decrease in the integral thyroid index ITI (p=0.0001) in examinees with normally high TSH levels, which also indicated the initial stage of hypothyroidism, in spite of the individual blood serum iodothyronines lying within the reference ranges. The tendency to the raised free T3 concentration with a fall in free T4 showed a strong link to an increase in the processes of peripheral conversion of iodothyronines in subjects with higher TSH levels.
 By the thyroid gland ultrasound examination we revealed no structural disorders or pathologies in 18 of 25 women (72%); 5 women (20%) exhibited single or multiple cysts in different localities of the organ; 2 women (8%) demonstrated signs of autoimmune thyroiditis with grade 1 hyperplasia; and 1 woman (4%) had a node of the thyroid gland.
 Conclusion. The research showed the necessity to conduct assessment studies on thyroid performance in groups at special risk for developing iodine deficit diseases, especially in women of reproductive age who are planning pregnancy and living in conditions of moderate iodine deficiency.