High prevalence of subclinical hypothyroidism in pregnant women in South India

Background: Thyroid dysfunction is one of the commonest endocrinopathies seen in pregnancy and affects both maternal and fetal outcomes. There is little data available on its prevalence in Indian pregnant women. This study was conducted at Bhaskar medical college and hospital situated in a rural/suburban area near Hyderabad, Telengana, India. The aim of the study was to find out the prevalence of thyroid disease among pregnant women.  Methods: All consecutive pregnant women registered from January 2014 to December 2014 were included in the study. Morning samples of serum were tested for T3, T4 and TSH.  Results: A total of 1340 women were included in the study. 260 pregnant women (19.41%) had TSH values more than 3.0 mIU/L, the cut-off value used for upper limit of normal in this study. Out of these, 216 had normal T4 value, hence labeled as subclinical hypothyroidism and 44 had low T4, hence termed overt hypothyroidism. Three pregnant women had overt hyperthyroidism and 11 had subclinical hyperthyroidism. Nine women had low T4 values-Isolated hypothyroidism.Conclusions: Prevalence of thyroid disease in pregnancy was found to be higher in our patients, more so the sub clinical hypothyroidism