Thyroid Dysfunction among Pregnant Women during Different Trimesters of Pregnancy: A Tertiary Care Hospital Based Observational Study

Abstract

Introduction: Normal thyroid function in pregnancy is important for the health of the mother as well as for the development and growth of the foetus. If pregnancy is associated with any endocrine problems like hypothyroidism, the prospective for maternal and foetal adverse outcomes can be huge. Aim: To find out the prevalence of thyroid dysfunction among pregnant women during different trimesters of pregnancy and to find out an association between Body Mass Index (BMI) and thyroid hormones in pregnancy. Materials and Methods: This was an observational cross-sectional study conducted between 15th April 2019 to 14th June 2019 by enrolling 100 normal healthy pregnant women in the Department of Medical Biochemistry in collaboration with Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Sultania Zanana Hospital associated with Gandhi Medical College, Bhopal Madhya Pradesh, India. Five milliliter of fasting blood sample was used for estimation of serum total T3 , total T4 and Thyroid Stimulating Hormone (TSH) levels by Enzyme Linked Immuno Sorbent Assay (ELISA) method. Statistical analysis was carried out using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS version. 16.0) software and the p-value <0.05 was considered as significant level. Results: The mean age of the study subjects were found to be 23.76±3.80, 24.05±3.18 and 23.8±3.25 years in the first, second and third trimester, respectively. A total of 35% prevalence of thyroid dysfunction was found among pregnant women. Out of this 24% had hypothyroidism, 1% had hyperthyroidism and 10% had euthyroid hyperthyroxinemia. A significant negative correlation was found between BMI and T4 levels in underweight category and a significant positive correlation between BMI and total T3 in third trimester was observed Conclusion: A high prevalence of hypothyroidism was observed particularly in the second trimester of pregnancy. This study lay the background for further large scale studies that should be conducted in Bhopal as such a high prevalence of thyroid dysfunction in iodine sufficient population is alarming and the results have deteriorating effect on both the maternal and foetal health.

Keywords

• body mass index
• endocrine disorders
• hormones
• prevalence