Developmental Defects of the Thyroid Gland: Relationship with Advanced Maternal Age

Objective: Developmental defects of the thyroid gland are the most frequent causes of permanent congenital hypothyroidism. This study aimed to investigate the epidemiological features of patients with thyroid dysgenesis (TD). Methods: Medical records of 234 patients with TD followed between the years 2008 and 2010 were evaluated retrospectively. Diagnosis was made by ultrasonography. Results: Of 234 patients, 120 (51.3%) were male and 114 (48.7%) were female. Male to female ratio was 1.08 and there were no significant differences in epidemiologic and clinical findings between girls and boys. One hundred eighty-three patients (78.2%) were diagnosed as hypoplasia, 35 (14.9%) as thyroid agenesis, 4 as ectopic thyroid gland and 12 as hemiagenesis. The mean maternal age of the group was 28.9±0.4 years (range 18 to 45 years), which is significantly higher than the recently reported mean maternal ages for Turkish women. Conclusions: Advanced maternal age was more prevalent in patients with TD. Our clinical and epidemiologic findings suggested no evidence of sexual dimorphism. Conflict of interest:None declared.