Thyroid Disease in Pregnancy

Abstract

Objective: Aim of the review is to determine the effect of thyroid dysfunction on the course of pregnancy.
Material and Methods: Medline, Embase (from 2000 to 2011) and research articles. There was no language restriction for any of these searches. Studies included were randomized clinical trials, cohort and case control studies.
Results: There are few prospective population based cohort studies which study the effect of
thyroid dysfunction on fetal development. There was a prospective population based cohort
study in china. 1017 women with singleton pregnancy participated in this study. The study
showed that clinical hypothyroidism was associated with increased fetal loss, low birth weight,
and congenital malformations. The sub clinical hypothyroidism was associated with increased
fetal distress, preterm delivery, poor vision development, and neurodevelopment delay. The
clinical hyperthyroidism was associated with hearing dysplasia. A systemic review and meta-
analysis found a strong association between clinical hypothyroidism and preeclampsia, perinatal
mortality and lower IQ in the child. They also found an association between thyroid autoimmunity
and unexplained subfertlity, miscarriages, recurrent miscarriages and preterm birth.
Conclusion: The management of thyroid disease in pregnancy is important as thyroid function undergo changes which can adversely affect pregnancy and the fetus