The Study of Prevalence and Pattern of Thyroid Disorder in Pregnant Women: A Prospective Study

Abstract

Background The most frequent thyroid disorder in pregnancy is maternal hypothyroidism. The geographical variation in the prevalence of hypothyroidism during pregnancy is very wide and ranges from 2.5% to 11%. The prevalence of hypothyroidism is more in Asian countries as compared to western countries. Thus, this study was conducted to find out the prevalence of thyroid disorder in pregnancy at our center. Methods The present study was conducted in the Department of Physiology in collaboration with the Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology, Index Medical College, Hospital and Research Center, Indore, MP, India over a period of one and a half years from October 2018 to March 2020. It was a cross-sectional study including 865 pregnant women. The patients' demographic profile was noted in all cases. A detailed history and thorough examination were done in all cases. Serum thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH), Free T3, and Free T4 (FT3 and FT4) were done along with routine blood investigations as per The Federation of Obstetric and Gynaecological Societies of India-Indian College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (FOGSI-ICOG) good clinical practice recommendation. Results In this study, the prevalence of thyroid dysfunction was 10.4%. Of these 90 patients with thyroid dysfunction, subclinical and overt hypothyroidism was found in 5.50% and 0.92%, respectively, whereas subclinical and overt hyperthyroidism was observed in 3.12% and 0.81% pregnant females, respectively. A significant association was found between thyroid dysfunction and maternal age, BMI, parity, and education. Conclusions The prevalence of thyroid dysfunction was 10.4% in this study. Hypothyroidism was more common than hyperthyroidism and subclinical thyroid disorders were more common than overt thyroid disorders in pregnancy. Therefore, we should include thyroid function tests with other routine investigations during pregnancy to detect thyroid dysfunction.