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Evaluation of the developmental outcome in children with congenital hypothyroidism
Razieh Ehsani1, Morteza Alijanpour2, Mohammadreza Salehiomran3
1Student Research Committee, Babol University of Medical Sciences, Babol, Iran.
Insights
Early diagnosis and treatment of congenital hypothyroidism (CH) are crucial for normal development. Delayed treatment in CH patients was linked to developmental delays, highlighting the importance of timely newborn screening.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Endocrinology
- Developmental Pediatrics
- Neonatal Screening
Background:
- Congenital hypothyroidism (CH) is a common endocrine disorder in children, a leading cause of preventable mental retardation.
- Evaluating the long-term developmental outcomes in children diagnosed with CH is essential for understanding disease impact.
Purpose of the Study:
- To assess the developmental status of children with congenital hypothyroidism.
- To identify potential risk factors for developmental abnormalities in CH patients.
Main Methods:
- A case-control study involving 100 children with CH and 100 healthy controls aged 3-6 years.
- The Denver Developmental Screening Test-II (DDST-II) was utilized to evaluate gross motor, fine motor, personal-social, and language development.
- Data were analyzed using SPSS, with statistical significance set at p<0.05.
Main Results:
- While gross motor skills were normal in CH patients, fine motor, personal-social, and language development showed minor abnormalities in 6% of cases.
- Children with abnormal DDST-II results all had delayed medical treatment initiation (over 30 days).
- All subjects with abnormal developmental screening had negative neonatal screening tests, suggesting treatment delay as a key factor.
Conclusions:
- Delayed medical intervention (over 30 days) in congenital hypothyroidism is associated with abnormal development in a small percentage of children.
- Timely neonatal screening and prompt diagnosis are critical for preventing developmental deficits in CH.
- Early and consistent treatment is vital for ensuring optimal developmental outcomes in infants with CH.
Background:
Congenital hypothyroidism (CH) is one of the most common endocrine diseases and one of the major causes of mental retardation in children. So we aimed to evaluate the developmental outcome of children with CH.
Methods:
This case-control study was performed on two 3-6-year-old groups of 100 patients. The case group was children with CH, referred to Endocrine Clinic of Amirkola Children's Hospital (2011-2017) and the control group was healthy children and normal from other states. The Denver developmental screening test-II (DDST_II) was used to assess the developmental factors and disorders in four areas of gross motor, fine motor, personal-social and language. Data were analyzed by SPSS 21 using descriptive statistics, t-test and chi-square, and a p<0.05 was considered significant.
Results:
The mean age of 200 children in the case and control groups was 54.62±15.72 and 59.68±15.64 months, respectively. In the case group, 45% and 55% of them had transient and permanent CH, respectively. All four criteria of DDST_II in the control group as well as gross motor in the case group were normal, but fine motor, personal-social and language were reported normal in 94, 95 and 93% of the case group, respectively. All subjects with abnormal DDST_II, had a negative neonatal screening tests.
Conclusion:
The results obtained from DDST_II indicated that 6% of children with CH had an abnormal development, all who had an onset of medical treatment over 30 days, which makes it important to screen the neonatal thyroid disease and diagnose this disease timely.
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