Family history of thyroid disease and risk of congenital hypothyroidism in neonates with down syndrome

Abstract

Introduction: Family history of thyroid disease (FHTD) as risk factor for congenital hypothyroidism (CH) in patients with Down syndrome (DS) has not yet been explored. Objective: To determine whether FHTD is associated with an increased risk for CH in DS. Method: Case-control study in 220 neonates with DS. Thyroid function tests of 37 infants with DS and FHTD (ca-ses) were compared with those of 183 DS newborns without FHTD (reference group). Data were analyzed using multivariate logistic regression analysis and adjusted odds ratios (aORs) with their respective 95 % confidence intervals (CI) were calcu-lated. Results: Nine newborns with DS in our sample had CH (4.1 %). FHTD showed an association with CH in neonates with DS (aOR = 8.3, 95 % CI: 2.0-34.3), particularly in males (aOR = 9.0, 95 % CI: 1.6-49.6). In contrast, newborns with DS without FHTD were less likely to suffer from CH (aOR = 0.4, 95 % CI: 0.1-0.8). Conclusions: FHTD detailed evaluation can be an easy and accessible strategy to identify those newborns with DS at higher risk for CH.