Association of Pre-Eclampsia with Subclinical Hypothyroidism in Pregnant Women

In pre-eclampsia, the serum concentration of thyroid stimulating hormone is elevated. This might triggers subclinical hypothyroidism. Pregnancy itself is a risk factor for developing hypothyroidism. Ultimately, an insufficient amount of thyroid hormones may lead to severe pregnancy complications.1 Method and Materials 100 subjects of subclinical hypothyroidism as cases and 100 euthyroid subjects as controls were taken and their serum analyzed for T3, T4 and TSH. Pregnancy outcome in terms of pre-eclampsia were compared in terms of student t-test. Result Incidence of pre-eclampsia was found clearly in excess in cases as compared to controls, showing an association between pre-eclampsia and subclinical hypothyroidism. Conclusion There is an association between thyroid abnormalities and pregnancy caused hypertension. It suggests that thyroid function test should be done in each pregnant woman to detect subclinical hypothyroidism, so that timely intervention can be done to prevent pregnancy related complications.