Thyroid function of mother and child and their impact on the child’s neuropsychological development

• Main Author: Päkkilä, F. (Fanni)
• Other Authors: Suvanto, E. (Eila), Männistö, T. (Tuija), Pouta, A. (Anneli)
• Format: Doctoral or Postdoctoral Thesis
• Language: English
• Published: Oulun yliopisto 2016
• Subjects: Thyroid - pregnancy; Thyroid hormones; Thyroid – diseases; neuropsychological development; offspring; pregnancy; sensory development; aistien kehitys; kilpirauhanen – raskaus; kilpirauhanen – sairaudet; neuropsykologinen kehitys; ADHD; Northern Finland
• Online Access: http://urn.fi/urn:isbn:9789526211268

Abstract Maternal gestational thyroid dysfunction has been associated with adverse neuropsychological development in children. This study investigated the effects of maternal thyroid dysfunction in early pregnancy and/or antibodies on the thyroid function and antibody status of children, as well as their association with the offspring’s ADHD symptoms, scholastic performance and sensory development. The study population consisted of the Northern Finland Birth Cohort of 1986. The mothers’ TSH, fT4 and TPO-Ab concentrations were evaluated in early pregnancy and in their offspring at 16 years of age. Data on the mothers and their families, their child’s health, development, behavior and scholastic performance were collected via parental questionnaires conducted in early pregnancy and when the children were 7–8 and 16 years old. Their teachers evaluated the children’s behavior and scholastic performance at 8 years of age, and at 16 years old the adolescents evaluated themselves. Maternal gestational thyroid dysfunction associated with adolescents’ increased odds of having the same thyroid dysfunction type. Adolescents of TPO-Ab-positive mothers had increased odds of being TPO-Ab-positive themselves. TPO-Ab-positive children had increased odds of having thyroid dysfunction. Increasing maternal TSH concentrations increased a child’s odds of having ADHD symptoms (OR 1.4 [95% CI 1.1-1.8]). Children of hypothyroxinemic mothers had increased odds of repeating a class at school (OR 3.5 [1.1-11.5]), and those of hyperthyroid mothers had increased odds of Finnish language learning difficulties (1.6 [1.03-2.4]). Furthermore, thyroid dysfunction in adolescents increased their odds of learning difficulties. No association was observed between maternal thyroid dysfunction and a child’s diagnosed intellectual deficiency and sensory development. Maternal thyroid dysfunction during pregnancy associated with thyroid dysfunction in the offspring. Maternal thyroid dysfunction may have a mild impact on her offspring’s neuropsychological ...