Prevalence of thyroid disorder in pregnancy and pregnancy outcome

Background and objectives: Thyroid disorders are among the common endocrine disorders in pregnant women. Our aim was to know the prevalence of thyroid dysfunction in pregnancy and its impact on obstetric outcome in Indian population. Materials and methods: It was a prospective study which involved screening of 1000 pregnant women coming to routine antenatal check-up in first trimester. TSH level was estimated. If it was deranged, then FT3 and FT4 levels estimated. Patients were managed accordingly and followed till delivery. Their obstetric and perinatal outcomes were noted. Results: Prevalence of thyroid dysfunction was high in this study, with subclinical hypothyroidism in (6.9%) and overt hypothyroidism in (3.4%) women. Overt hypothyroids were prone to have preeclampsia preeclampsia (14.7%), abruptio placenta (2.9%), preterm delivery (8.8%), abortion (11.8%), IUGR (11.7%), LBW (11.7%), still birth (2.9%), which is comparable to other studies. Overt hyperthyroids were prone to have miscarriage (66.7%) which was significantly high. Conclusion: Prevalence of thyroid disorders, especially subclinical hypothyroidism (6.9%) and overt hypothyroidism (3.4%) was high. Significant adverse effects on maternal and fetal outcome were seen emphasizing the importance of routine antenatal thyroid screening.