Growth and Developmental Milestones in Children with Congenital Hypothyroidism Attending Assiut Health Insurance Clinic

Abstract

Objective: To determine the effect of Congenital Hypothyroidism (CH) on growth and development of children aged 1–60 months. Method: A cross-sectional study including 118 children with CH and 236 normal children was conducted in Assiut, Egypt. Growth was measured by weight and length/height. Developmental delay was screened using Ages and Stages Questionnaire. Results: Mean age in both groups was 19.6 months. Mean weight of children with CH was 6991.3±1907.4 gm versus 6912.3±188.2 gm for normal children in children aged 1-<24 months and 14587.2±2344 gm versus 14299.4±1997gm among children aged 24-60 months, respectively. Overweight (7.6% versus 2.2), stunting (47.5% versus 25%) and developmental delays in communication (14.4% versus 2.5%), gross motor (29.7% versus 5.9%), fine motor (13.6% versus 5.9%), problem solving (10.2% versus 3.8%), and personal– social (11.9% versus 1.3%) domains were significantly higher among children with CH compared to normal children. Regarding thyroid function, 15% and 23% of children with CH revealed overt and subclinical hypothyroidism respectively. Overt hypothyroidism showed significantly higher developmental delays than either euthyroid or subclinical cases in the communication gross motor, fine motor, and personal–social domains (64.7%, 42.9%, 43.8% and 42,9% respectively). Conclusion: Children with CH were significantly overweight, stunted and developmentally delayed compared to normal children. Impaired thyroid function was not associated with growth defects but overt hypothyroid children showed significant developmental delay. IQ testing and continuous monitoring are essential for all children with CH. Efficiently organized recording systems, treatment documents, and compliance and follow-up assessment results can facilitate hassle-free health-card retrieval.