Prevalence of thyroid dysfunction among women during the first trimester of pregnancy at a tertiary care hospital in Haryana

BACKGROUND: Undetected and untreated thyroid disorders are associated with adverse maternal and fetal outcomes. There are limited data on the prevalence of newly diagnosed thyroid disease during pregnancy from India. Therefore, this study was designed to evaluate the prevalence of thyroid dysfunction, especially hypothyroidism during the first trimester of pregnancy. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The present cross-sectional study was conducted at Department of endocrinology and antenatal clinic in the Obstetrics and Gynecology Pt. B.D. Sharma PGIMS, Rohtak over a period of 1-year. The total sample population comprised of 461 pregnant women with uncomplicated intrauterine singleton pregnancies in the first trimester of gestation without any history of thyroid disease or intake of any thyroid medication. Morning blood samples from the participants were analyzed for thyroid function tests, which included FT3, FT4, thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) and anti-thyroid peroxidase antibodies (TPO). RESULTS: A total of 461 women were enrolled for this study. Mean maternal age was 23.79 ± 3.47 years. Median gestational age was 8 weeks 5 days. The median FT3, FT4 and TSH were 3.3 pg/mL, 1.25 ng/dL, and 1.40 mIU/L, respectively. Anti-TPO was elevated in 128 (27.8%) pregnant women. 99 (21.5%) women had sub-clinical hypothyroidism and 39 (39.4%) among them were positive for anti-TPO (P ≤ 0.001). 2 (0.4%) of women had overt hyperthyroidism, whereas 15 (3.3%) of the women had sub-clinical hyperthyroidism. CONCLUSION: Considering the immense impact that maternal thyroid dysfunction has on maternal and fetal outcomes, prompt identification of thyroid dysfunction and its timely treatment is essential. Thus, universal screening of pregnant women for thyroid dysfunction should be considered especially in a country like India due to the high prevalence of thyroid dysfunction.