Trimester-specific reference ranges for thyroid hormones in Iranian pregnant women

Background. Due to many physiological changes during pregnancy, interpretation of thyroid function tests needs trimester-specific reference intervals for a specific population. There is no normative data documented for thyroid hormones on healthy pregnant women in Iran. The present survey was conducted to determine trimester-specific reference ranges for serum TSH, thyroxine (TT4), and triiodothyronine (TT3). Methods. The serum of 215 cases was analyzed for measurement of thyroid function tests by immunoassay method of which 152 iodine-sufficient pregnant women without thyroid autoantibodies and history of thyroid disorder or goiter were selected for final analysis. Reference intervals were defined as 5th and 95th percentiles. Results. Reference intervals in the first, second, and third trimesters were as follows: TSH (0.2-3.9, 0.5-4.1, and 0.6-4.1 mIU/l), TT4 (8.2-18.5, 10.1-20.6, and 9-19.4 μg/dl), and TT3 (137.8-278.3, 154.8-327.6, and 137-323.6 ng/dl), respectively. No correlation was found between TSH and TT4 or TT3. Significant correlation was found between TT4 and TT3 in all trimesters (r = 0.35, P < 0.001). Conclusion. The reference intervals of thyroid function tests in pregnant women differ among trimesters. Applying trimester-specific reference ranges of thyroid hormones is warranted in order to avoid misclassification of thyroid dysfunction during pregnancy.