Related Experiment Video

Updated: Apr 12, 2026

Author Spotlight: Studying the Impact of Maternal Dietary Deficiencies on Long-Term Offspring Health Outcomes
03:19

Author Spotlight: Studying the Impact of Maternal Dietary Deficiencies on Long-Term Offspring Health Outcomes

Published on: June 28, 2024

846

Maternal Thyroxine Levels During Pregnancy and Outcomes of Cognitive Development in Children

Pingping Wang1, Jian Gao2, Shihua Zhao3

  • 1Obstetrical Department, Maternal and Children Health's Hospital, Weifang, 261011, China. wangppwf@yeah.net.

Molecular Neurobiology
|May 13, 2015
PubMed

Though there were many studies assessing the relationship between maternal thyroxine levels during pregnancy and cognitive development in children, there was still lack of evidence for the association from a comprehensive assessment of published data. To get a more comprehensive estimate of the influence of low maternal thyroxine levels on cognitive function, a meta-analysis of prospective cohort studies was performed. Two electronic databases, MEDLINE and EMBASE, were searched for relevant prospective cohort studies. Relative risks (RR) with 95% confidence intervals (95% CI) were pooled using random-effect model of meta-analysis to assess the risk of delayed cognitive development in children. Seven prospective cohort studies with a total of 8273 mother-child pairs were included into the meta-analysis. There was obvious between-study heterogeneity in the meta-analysis (I(2) = 69.6%). Meta-analysis of using random-effect model showed that low maternal thyroxine level was significantly associated with a threefold risk of delayed cognitive development in children (random RR = 3.08, 95% CI 1.83-5.18, P < 0.001). When excluding the study with largest weight, there was no obvious between-study heterogeneity in the left studies (I(2) = 47.6%), and meta-analysis using random-effect model showed that low maternal thyroxine level was still significantly associated with increased risk of delayed cognitive development in children (random RR = 3.76, 95% CI 2.14-6.58, P < 0.001). Sensitivity analysis by omitting other studies by turns showed that there was no obvious change in the pooled risk estimates, and all pooled RRs were statistically significant. Therefore, the findings from the meta-analysis provide strong evidence for the association between maternal thyroxine levels during pregnancy and cognitive development in children. Low maternal thyroxine level is significantly associated with a threefold risk of delayed cognitive development in children.

Keywords:
Brain developmentCognitive functionThyroxine levels

More Related Videos

Author Spotlight: Collecting the Brain and Serum from the Same Mice Fetus to Study Brain Tumor Development05:44

Author Spotlight: Collecting the Brain and Serum from the Same Mice Fetus to Study Brain Tumor Development

Published on: May 17, 2024

1.3K
Assessment and Evaluation of the High Risk Neonate: The NICU Network Neurobehavioral Scale19:15

Assessment and Evaluation of the High Risk Neonate: The NICU Network Neurobehavioral Scale

Published on: August 25, 2014

88.5K

Related Concept Videos

Synthesis and Regulation of Thyroid Hormones01:20

Synthesis and Regulation of Thyroid Hormones

Low blood levels of the thyroid hormones — triiodothyronine (T3) and thyroxine (T4) — signal the hypothalamus to release the thyrotropin-releasing hormone (TRH). TRH then reaches the pituitary gland and stimulates the release of thyroid-stimulating hormone(TSH) into the bloodstream.
Upon reaching the thyroid gland, TSH stimulates the follicular cells' active uptake of iodide ions from the blood. The ions diffuse to the apical surface of the cells and are oxidized to iodine. The...
9.4K
Functions of Thyroid Hormones01:18

Functions of Thyroid Hormones

The thyroid hormone (TH) plays a pivotal role in the intricate orchestration of physiological processes, exerting profound effects on development, metabolism, and homeostasis throughout different life stages.
TH is indispensable for the normal development and maturation of the skeletal, muscular, and nervous systems during fetal and childhood growth. It facilitates bone mineral turnover and regulates protein synthesis in developing tissues, contributing significantly to overall growth and...
7.0K
Environmental Influences on Intelligence01:29

Environmental Influences on Intelligence

Despite the strong genetic influence on traits like intelligence, environmental factors significantly shape outcomes. For example, while over 90% of height variation is due to genetic differences, environmental factors such as nutrition also have a notable impact. Similarly, for intelligence, changes in a child's surroundings can significantly alter their IQ. Research shows that enriched environments boost children's academic success and help them develop key cognitive skills. Children...
1.1K
Information Processing Approach01:30

Information Processing Approach

The information-processing theory of cognitive development centers on fundamental mental processes, including attention, memory, and problem-solving skills. Researchers in this field examine how cognitive abilities, such as working memory, evolve and influence children's overall development. Studies indicate that children with stronger working memory tend to excel in reading comprehension, math, and problem-solving compared to peers with less efficient memory skills. Low working memory is...
819
Teratogenicity01:07

Teratogenicity

The ability of a drug to produce structural deformations and functional abnormalities in the developing embryo or the fetus is called teratogenicity, and the drug producing this effect is known as a teratogen. Teratogenic effects include stillbirth, miscarriage, intrauterine growth restriction, and neurocognitive delay. A teratogen may affect the embryo at different stages of development, which is important in determining the type and extent of the damage. During blastocyst formation, the early...
4.6K
Biological Influences on Intelligence01:30

Biological Influences on Intelligence

Intelligence is often thought to be linked to brain size, but the relationship is more complex than that. While brain size does correlate modestly with some abilities, like verbal skills, the connection is weaker for others, such as spatial reasoning. Other factors, like brain structure, also play crucial roles. For instance, despite Einstein's smaller-than-average brain, his parietal cortex, which is involved in spatial reasoning, was 15% wider, suggesting that neural density might matter...
692