Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2020 Mar;301(3):681-686.
doi: 10.1007/s00404-020-05462-0. Epub 2020 Feb 27.

Prevalences of subclinical and overt hypothyroidism with universal screening in early pregnancy

Deniz Karcaaltincaba  1 , Murat Aykut Ozek  2 , Nagehan Ocal  3 , Pinar Calis  1 , Melis Altug Inan  1 , Merih Bayram  1
Affiliations

Prevalences of subclinical and overt hypothyroidism with universal screening in early pregnancy

Deniz Karcaaltincaba et al. Arch Gynecol Obstet. 2020 Mar.

Abstract

Purpose: To reveal the prevalence of subclinical and overt hypothyroidism among Turkish population during pregnancy. Also to investigate the prevalence of hypothyroidism using ATA 2017 criteria.

Methods: This is a cross-sectional study. Patients were consisted of 1416 consecutive pregnant women who were universally screened for thyroid disease in their first trimester between 2013 and 2015. Thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) and free T4 (FT4) levels were analyzed during the first antenatal visit (before 12 weeks of gestation). We compared different cutoffs for TSH. We further determined the 2.5th and 97.5th percentiles for TSH and FT4.

Results: Initially, the cutoff of 2.5 IU/ml was selected. Accordingly, 305 women (22.3%) had subclinical hypothyroidism and 22 (1.6%) was diagnosed with overt hypothyroidism. When the cutoff was increased to 4 IU/ml, only 40 (2.9%) women were diagnosed with hypothyroidism. Prevalences of overt hypothyroidism and subclinical hypothyroidism were 0.6% and 2.3%, respectively.

Conclusion: Universal screening of pregnant women with TSH, using the 2.5 mIU/L cutoff; one in four women was found to be a candidate for thyroid hormone replacement in our cohort. When the cutoff was determined to be 4 mIU/L, prevalence of hypothyroidism decreased approximately 10 times.

Keywords: Overt hypothyroidism; Pregnancy; Screening; Subclinical hypothyroidism.

PubMed Disclaimer

Comment in

References

    1. Shah MS, Davies TF, Stagnaro-Green A (2003) The thyroid during pregnancy: a physiological and pathological stress test. Minerva Endocrinol 28(3):233–245 (PubMed PMID: 14605605) - PubMed
    1. Glinoer D (2004) The regulation of thyroid function during normal pregnancy: importance of the iodine nutrition status. Best Pract Res Clin Endocrinol Metab 18(2):133–152. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.beem.2004.03.001 (PubMed PMID: 15157832) - DOI - PubMed
    1. Negro R, Schwartz A, Gismondi R et al (2010) Universal screening versus case finding for detection and treatment of thyroid hormonal dysfunction during pregnancy. J Clin Endocrinol Metab 95(4):1699–1707. https://doi.org/10.1210/jc.2009-2009 (PubMed PMID: 20130074) - DOI - PubMed
    1. Stagnaro-Green A, Abalovich M, Alexander E et al (2011) Guidelines of the American thyroid association for the diagnosis and management of thyroid disease during pregnancy and postpartum. Thyroid 21(10):1081–1125. https://doi.org/10.1089/thy.2011.0087. (PubMed PMID: 21787128; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC3472679) - DOI - PubMed - PMC
    1. De Groot L, Abalovich M, Alexander EK et al (2012) Management of thyroid dysfunction during pregnancy and postpartum: an Endocrine Society clinical practice guideline. J Clin Endocrinol Metab 97(8):2543–2565. https://doi.org/10.1210/jc.2011-2803 (PubMed PMID: 22869843) - DOI - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources