THYROID DYSFUNCTION IN PREGNANCY: COMPARISON OF OUTCOMES IN INFANTS

Area of Science:

• Pediatrics
• Endocrinology
• Developmental Neuroscience

Background:

• Thyroid dysfunction in pregnancy is common.
• Maternal thyroid health impacts fetal development.
• Prenatal factors influencing infant neurodevelopment require further investigation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To compare psychomotor delay incidence in infants exposed to maternal thyroid treatment versus unexposed infants.
• To identify risk factors associated with psychomotor delay in early infancy.

Main Methods:

• A comparative study involving 200 infants up to 4 months of age.
• Infants were assessed by pediatric physiatrists or randomly selected from clinics.
• Binary logistic regression analyzed factors influencing psychomotor delay.

Main Results:

• Infants of mothers with drug-compensated thyroid dysfunction had a 5.53 times higher chance of psychomotor delay.
• Each week of younger gestational age increased delay likelihood by 2.12 times.
• A 1g reduction in birth weight correlated with a 1% increase in psychomotor delay likelihood.

Conclusions:

• Maternal drug-compensated thyroid dysfunction during pregnancy is a significant risk factor for infant psychomotor delay.
• Gestational age and birth weight are also critical factors in infant neurodevelopment.
• Findings support the development of screening programs for high-risk infants and early habilitation.