AbstractBackground and Objectives: Thyroid disorders among pregnant women during the first trimester are at risk of adverse maternal and neonatal pregnancy outcomes. This study was aimed to find out the prevalence of thyroid dysfunction during early pregnancy. Methodology: This cross-sectional study was done at Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Lourdes Hospital, Kochi, Kerala from April 2013 to September 2013.A total of 385 pregnant women satisfying selection criteria attending antenatal care with gestational age 16 weeks of pregnancy were studied. The estimation of TSH was done by chemiluminiscence immunoassay (CLIA) method. Results: The mean gestational age of the women was 12.60 ± 2.08 weeks. Most of the women (44.94%) were aged between 26 to 28 years and mean age of the study population was 26.16 ± 3.28 years and 71.17% of the women had primi parity. History of infertility and thyroid disorders was present in 4.16% of the women each. Family history of thyroid disorders was reported by 2.86% of the women. Abnormal TSH levels were noted 33.51% of the women with mean TSH levels of 2.49 ± 2.20 ng/dL. The free T3 levels were found to be abnormal in 8.05% of the women and abnormal free T4 levels were noted in 7.53% of the women. Conclusion and Interpretation: Most of the women (25.19%) had sub-clinical hypothyroidism and 5.97% had over hypothyroidism. The overt hyperthyroidism was present in 1.56% of the women and 0.78% had sub-clinical hyperthyroidism. Positive association was noted between thyroid abnormalities and family history of thyroid disorders.
Keyword: Hypothyroidism; Hyperthyroidism; Subclinical Hypothyroidism; Thyroid Dysfunction; Thyroid Stimulating Hormone.