Investigation of Risk Factors of Congenital Hypothyroidism in Children in Southwestern Iran

Due to the fact that congenital hypothyroidism is one of the preventable causes of mental retardation, so this study was conducted to determine the risk factors in children with congenital hypothyroidism. In this descriptive-analytical cross-sectional study, the study population included all children with congenital hypothyroidism referred to outpatient clinics of teaching hospitals whose congenital hypothyroidism was diagnosed by a physician specializing in this field from the first months after birth. The data collection tool is a researcher-made checklist that includes individual and clinical variables (age, sex, height, weight, several children in the family, etc.). In order to analyze the data, SPSS(19) software and descriptive statistics such as mean, standard deviation and frequency percentage were used to describe the demographic information. The significance level used in statistical tests was considered equal to 0.05. The results of this study showed that out of 350 affected children, 163 (46.6) were girls and 187 (53.4) were boys. Also, the majority of children are over 6 years old (35.14%). Most children live in the city (88.57%). Also 55.71% of mothers of affected children had a normal delivery. 57.42% of the parents of children have a family relationship. According to the results of this study, many risk factors for congenital hypothyroidism are identified. Therefore, based on these findings, Health planners should consider the necessary strategies to prevent and control this congenital disease in a timely manner.