Developmental and behavioral disorders in children with congenital hypothyroidism

Congenital hypothyroidism (CHT) causes severe physical and mental retardation if untreated. If treatment is delayed sequelae of brain damage will persist. The best results will be attained if treatment is started in the first weeks of postnatal life. Most of our patients came to our clinic beyond the age of one year, 45% were older than 5 years. Almost all of them had disturbances in growth and development at the time of diagnosis. Treatment with thyroid hormones resulted in improvement in physical growth, but psycho-social achievements were often very disappointing. In this paper a description of developmental and behavioral disorders of children with CHT before and after years of treatment has been made. Persistent inabilities in speaking, writing and reading, arithmetic and behavioral disorders were found. Some recommendations are given.