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Sex-specific Effect of Maternal Thyroid Hormone Trajectories on Preschoolers' Behavioral Development: A Birth Cohort

Peixuan Li1, Yuzhu Teng1, Xue Ru1

  • 1Department of Maternal, Child & Adolescent Health, School of Public Health, Anhui Medical University, Key Laboratory of Population Health Across Life Cycle (Anhui Medical University), Ministry of Education of the People's Republic of China, NHC Key Laboratory of Study on Abnormal Gametes and Reproductive Tract, Anhui Provincial Key Laboratory of Population Health and Aristogenics, Hefei, China.

The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism
|January 9, 2022
PubMed

Insights

Maternal thyroid hormone levels during pregnancy significantly impact boys' behavior. Specific trajectories of thyroid-stimulating hormone and free thyroxine are linked to behavioral issues in preschoolers.

Area of Science:

  • Endocrinology
  • Developmental Psychology
  • Public Health

Background:

  • Maternal thyroid hormones are crucial for fetal neurodevelopment.
  • The impact of maternal thyroid hormone levels on child development can be sex-specific.
  • Thyroid hormone trajectories throughout pregnancy may offer better predictive value than single-trimester measurements.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the sex-specific influence of maternal thyroid hormone trajectories on preschoolers' behavioral development.
  • To determine if maternal thyroid hormone patterns during pregnancy are associated with specific behavioral outcomes in children.

Main Methods:

  • Utilized data from the Ma' anshan Birth Cohort in China, including 1860 mother-child pairs.
  • Retrospectively analyzed maternal thyroid hormones (TSH, FT4) and antibodies across three trimesters.
  • Assessed preschoolers' behavior using the Achenbach Child Behavior Checklist/1.5~5 at age 4.

Main Results:

  • Maternal high TSH trajectories were associated with withdrawn and externalizing problems in boys.
  • Moderate TSH and low FT4 trajectories were linked to aggressive behavior in boys.
  • High FT4 trajectories in mothers correlated with anxious/depressed and total problems in preschool boys.

Conclusions:

  • Maternal thyroid hormone trajectories during pregnancy significantly influence behavioral development in preschool boys.
  • Specific patterns of maternal thyroid hormones are predictive of distinct behavioral challenges in male offspring.
  • These findings highlight the importance of monitoring maternal thyroid function throughout pregnancy for potential neurodevelopmental programming.
Abstract

Keywords:
behavioral developmentchildrenpregnant womenthyroid hormones

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