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Intellectual outcome, motor skills and BMI of children with congenital hypothyroidism: a population‐based study
Author(s) -
Arenz Stephan,
NennstielRatzel Uta,
Wildner Manfred,
Dörr HelmuthGünther,
Von Kries Rüdiger
Publication year - 2008
Publication title -
acta pædiatrica
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.772
H-Index - 115
eISSN - 1651-2227
pISSN - 0803-5253
DOI - 10.1111/j.1651-2227.2008.00702.x
Subject(s) - medicine , levothyroxine , pediatrics , intelligence quotient , anthropometry , congenital hypothyroidism , psychomotor learning , overweight , confidence interval , gross motor skill , population , thyroid , motor skill , body mass index , physical therapy , cognition , psychiatry , environmental health
Aim: To evaluate intellectual outcome, motor skills and anthropometric data of children with congenital hypothyroidism (CH). Methods: Children with permanent CH who were born in 1999 in Bavaria were eligible for this prospective, population‐based study. Cognitive performance was evaluated by the Kaufman Assessment Battery for Children and motor skills were assessed by the motor test, Motoriktest für vier‐bis sechsjahrige Kinder (MOT) 4–6. Results: Eighteen of 21 eligible children participated (86%). Median age of the children was 5.5 years (range 4.9–5.8). Treatment with levothyroxine was started after a median of 7.2 days (range 4–15) with a median dose of 12.0 μg/kg (range 7.2–17.0). Mean intelligence quotient (IQ) of the children was 100.4 (standard deviation [SD] 10.1): no children had IQ values below the normal range. Reactivity and speed of movement were significantly reduced in children with CH. Children with an initial thyroid‐stimulating hormone (TSH) value of >200 mU/L performed significantly worse than children with TSH value of ≤200 mU/L (p = 0.003). Children with CH had a significant increased risk for overweight (risk ratio [RR] 3.91, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.22–11.75, p = 0.005) compared to the Bavarian reference children. Conclusion: In this study, children with CH had an increased prevalence of overweight compared to reference data. Partially impaired motor skills could be shown, whereas the intellectual development was normal.