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Thyroid antibodies in children of mothers with auto-immune thyroid disease

R Heithorn1, B P Hauffa, D Reinwein

  • 1Department of Endocrinology, University GHS Essen, Germany.

European Journal of Pediatrics
|February 9, 1999
PubMed

Insights

Children born to mothers with autoimmune thyroid disease frequently have thyroid antibodies but no thyroid dysfunction. Further research is needed to determine if these antibody-positive children face a higher risk of developing thyroid disorders later in life.

Area of Science:

  • Endocrinology
  • Immunology
  • Pediatrics

Background:

  • Maternal autoimmune thyroid diseases, such as Graves' disease and Hashimoto thyroiditis, can impact fetal and neonatal thyroid function.
  • Transplacental passage of maternal autoantibodies may affect the offspring's thyroid status.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To evaluate the clinical, biochemical, and sonographic thyroid status of children born to mothers with autoimmune thyroid disease.
  • To investigate the prevalence of thyroid antibodies and subclinical thyroid dysfunction in this pediatric cohort.

Main Methods:

  • Cross-sectional study involving 29 children (1 month to 15.3 years) of mothers with Graves' disease or Hashimoto thyroiditis.
  • Clinical examination, thyroid function tests (TSH, fT4, T3), thyroid autoantibody testing (TPOAb, TgAb, TRAb), and thyroid ultrasonography were performed.

Main Results:

  • All children were clinically euthyroid at examination, with normal free thyroxine (fT4) levels.
  • Subclinical hypothyroidism (elevated TSH, normal fT4) was detected in 3 children.
  • Increased thyroid antibody titres were found in 8 of 29 children, including elevated TSH receptor-blocking antibodies in 8 cases and cytotoxic antibodies in one child.

Conclusions:

  • Children of mothers with autoimmune thyroid disease often exhibit thyroid antibodies without overt thyroid dysfunction.
  • The presence of thyroid antibodies in these children warrants further investigation through longitudinal studies to assess future risks of thyroid disorders.
Abstract

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