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Updated: Jun 3, 2026

Generation of a Mouse Spontaneous Autoimmune Thyroiditis Model
Published on: March 17, 2023
Thyroid autoimmunity and pre-term delivery: brief review and meta-analysis
1Division of Endocrinology, V. Fazzi Hospital, Piazza F. Muratore 73100, Lecce, Italy. robnegro@tiscali.it
Background:
About 10% of women in childbearing age are positive for thyroid antibodies. The presence of such antibodies has been associated with adverse obstetrical outcomes, in particular miscarriage and pre-term delivery, even though the strength of these associations varies widely from one study to another.
Aim:
To evaluate from the available data of the literature, the association between thyroid autoimmunity and pre-term delivery.
Materials And Methods:
MEDLINE, EMBASE, Cochrane Library search from 1990 to 2010. A combination of key words was used to generate 2 subset of citations, one indexing thyroid antibodies and the other indexing pre-term delivery as adverse outcome.
Results:
Seven studies, collecting about 23,000 patients were selected. Meta-analysis of the studies showed an association between thyroid autoimmunity and pre-term delivery [odds ratio =1.67 (confidence interval: 1.44- 1.94; p<0.001)].
Conclusions:
The results of the meta-analysis confirmed the association between thyroid autoimmunity and pre-term delivery. A cause-effect relationship has to be still clarified and interventional studies are required.
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