Infants of Hypothyroid Mothers at Risk of Developing Hypothyroidism: A Cross-sectional Study in Qassim Region of Saudi Arabia

Hypothyroidism is one of the most prevalent endocrine disorders in women of childbearing age. If it goes untreated, can seriously affect maternal and fetal outcomes.Aim This study aimed to assess the prevalence of hypothyroidism in infants born to hypothyroid mothers and to analyze associated fetal complications.Subjects and methods This is a quantitative cross-sectional study conducted among pregnant mothers at Al Qassim region, Saudi Arabia. Data of pregnant women with clinical hypothyroidism during the last five years 2015-2019 were obtained from visiting records of Endocrine Clinic in Qassim University. These participants were contacted and written informed consents were obtained from the participants after a brief introduction of the study. A comprehensive survey questionnaire was used to collect information about demographic and study variables. Results 153 mothers were enrolled. The most common age group was 31 – 45 years with mostly Saudis (93.5%). Complications during pregnancy were detected among 47.1% of mothers. The most common complication during pregnancy was C-section (26.8%). The prevalence of infants with hypothyroidism was 2.6% while the prevalence of newborn babies with temporary/permanent hypothyroidism was 4.6%. Decreased activity (7.8%) and an increased in weight (5.2%) were the most common symptoms of a child at the time of diagnosis.Conclusion Infants with hypothyroidism were not widely prevalent in this study. Cesarean delivery, gestational diabetes and anemia were some of the most common maternal complications during pregnancy.Keywords