Background: Children with Down syndrome have increased risk of health
problems. Two common health problems in children with Down syndrome are
thyroid dysfunction and hearing disorder. These health problems could inhibit the
growth and development of children with Down syndrome.
Aim: To find out the correlation of thyroid function and hearing disorder in
children with Down syndrome.
Methods: This retrospective observational study was done by taking data from
medical records of Down syndrome patients in RSUP dr. Kariadi, Semarang. The
subjects is Down syndrome children who underwent medical checkup in RSUP dr.
Kariadi, Semarang. Data are subject’s characteristic, thyroid test result, and
hearing test result for both ears by tympanometri, OAE and, BERA. Chi-square test
and Spearman test were used for statistical analysis.
Result: 32 subjects met the inclusion criteria in this study. 62.5% of them had
hypothyroidism. 21 children had hearing loss with two children suffered a
unilateral hearing loss so that there are 40 ears (62,5%) had hearing loss by 35%
suffered from type CHL and 65% suffered from type SNHL. The Spearman test
showed a weak degree correlation between thyroid function and hearing disorder
(r = 0.267; p = 0.033). The Chi-square test showed an association between thyroid
function with type of hearing disorder (p = 0.007).
Conclusion: There is a weak degree correlation between thyroid function and
hearing disorder in children with Down syndrome.
Keywords: Down syndrome, thyroid, Hearing, CHL, SNH
