Early Pregnancy Subclinical Hypothyroidism Linked to Quadrupled Risk of Postpartum Thyroid Dysfunction: Study
A new study has shown that subclinical hypothyroidism diagnosed before 21 weeks of pregnancy is associated with more than fourfold higher rates of overt hypothyroidism or thyroid replacement therapy within 5 years of delivery. The study is published in the peer-reviewed journal Thyroid®, the official journal of the American Thyroid Association.
Subclinical hypothyroidism, or a change in the levels of thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) that isn’t severe enough to cause symptoms, is especially common during pregnancy, affecting as many as 1 in 4 pregnant people. While subclinical hypothyroidism isn’t inherently dangerous, overt hypothyroidism comes with serious symptoms including fatigue, depression, and heart problems.
Researchers reported that progression to overt hypothyroidism was more common in individuals with thyroid-stimulating hormone levels that were more than twice the normal level. The investigators found that diagnosis of hypothyroxinemia, a deficiency in the thyroid hormone thyroxine, before 21 weeks of pregnancy was not associated with the development of overt hypothyroidism after delivery.
Hence, the authors concluded that Subclinical hypothyroidism is associated with higher rates of overt hypothyroidism or thyroid replacement therapy within 5 years of delivery than is hypothyroxinemia when these conditions are diagnosed in the first half of pregnancy.
Ref: Michael W. Varner et al, Progression of Gestational Subclinical Hypothyroidism and Hypothyroxinemia to Overt Hypothyroidism After Pregnancy: Pooled Analysis of Data from Two Randomized Controlled Trials, Thyroid (2024). DOI: 10.1089/thy.2023.0616
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