It is difficult to know quite how much of a finding this is. I suspect we in the UK might question the number of mothers found to have thyroid disorders. (Certainly we see quite a number of posts where what could be regarded as the results of a thyroid disorder are actually dismissed or ignored.)
The simple fact that the introductory paragraph puts forward the suggestion of cerebral palsy risk being raised by prenatal thyroid hormone disturbances is significant.
Certainly seems to deserve more research - as suggested.
BMC Pediatr. 2018 May 31;18(1):181. doi: 10.1186/s12887-018-1152-5.
Maternal thyroid disorder in pregnancy and risk of cerebral palsy in the child: a population-based cohort study.
Petersen TG1, Andersen AN2, Uldall P3, Paneth N4, Feldt-Rasmussen U5, Tollånes MC6, Strandberg-Larsen K2.
Author information
1 Section of Social Medicine, Department of Public Health, University of Copenhagen, Gothersgade 160, 1123, Copenhagen, Denmark. tagp@sund.ku.dk.
2 Section of Social Medicine, Department of Public Health, University of Copenhagen, Gothersgade 160, 1123, Copenhagen, Denmark.
3 Pediatric Department at Rigshospitalet, Juliane Maries Vej 8, 2100, Copenhagen, Denmark.
4 Department of Epidemiology & Biostatistics and Department of Pediatrics and Human Development, Michigan State University, 909 Fee Road, East Lansing, MI, 48824, USA.
5 Department of Medical Endocrinology at Rigshospitalet, Ole Maaloees Vej 26, 2200, Copenhagen, Denmark.
6 Domain for Mental and Physical Health at Norwegian Institute of Public Health, Kalfarveien 31, 5020, Bergen, Norway.
Abstract
BACKGROUND:
Cerebral palsy is the most frequent motor disability in childhood, but little is known about its etiology. It has been suggested that cerebral palsy risk may be increased by prenatal thyroid hormone disturbances. The objective of this study was to investigate whether maternal thyroid disorder is associated with increased risk of cerebral palsy.
METHODS:
A population-based cohort study using two study populations. 1) 1,270,079 children born in Denmark 1979-2007 identified in nationwide registers, and 2) 192,918 children born 1996-2009 recruited into the Danish National Birth Cohort and The Norwegian Mother and Child Cohort study, combined in the MOthers and BAbies in Norway and Denmark (MOBAND) collaboration cohort. Register-based and self-reported information on maternal thyroid disorder was studied in relation to risk of cerebral palsy and its unilateral and bilateral spastic subtypes using multiple logistic regression. Children were followed from the age of 1 year to the age of 6 years, and cerebral palsy was identified in nationwide registers with verified diagnoses.
RESULTS:
In register data, hypothyroidism was recognized in 12,929 (1.0%), hyperthyroidism in 9943 (0.8%), and unclassifiable thyroid disorder in 753 (< 0.1%) of the mothers. The odds ratio for an association between maternal thyroid disorder and bilateral spastic cerebral palsy was 1.0 (95% CI: 0.7-1.5). Maternal thyroid disorder identified during pregnancy was associated with elevated risk of unilateral spastic cerebral palsy (odds ratio 3.1 (95% CI: 1.2-8.4)). In MOBAND, 3042 (1.6%) of the mothers reported a thyroid disorder in pregnancy, which was not associated with cerebral palsy overall (odds ratio 1.2 (95% CI: 0.6-2.4)).
CONCLUSIONS:
Maternal thyroid disorder overall was not related to bilateral spastic cerebral palsy, but maternal thyroid disorder identified in pregnancy was associated with increased risk of unilateral spastic cerebral palsy. These findings should be replicated in studies making use of maternal blood samples.
KEYWORDS:
Cerebral palsy; Maternal thyroid disorder; Pregnancy; Prenatal exposure; Register-based cohort; The Danish National Birth Cohort; The Norwegian mother and child cohort study
PMID: 29855286
DOI: 10.1186/s12887-018-1152-5
