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No link between neonate T₄ concentrations, maternal thyroid function

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Researchers found no association between thyroxine concentrations in newborns within the normal range and maternal thyroid function, and such concentrations were not predictive of cognitive development.

The researchers examined 500 children born from 1999 to 2003 whose mothers were enrolled in Project Viva. Cognitive test scores were obtained at 6 months old and 3 years old. The mean T₄ level was 17.6 mcg/dL at a mean age of 1.94 days.

“Newborn T₄ levels were not associated with maternal T₄, thyroid-stimulating hormone or thyroid peroxidase antibody levels,” the researchers wrote.

Child cognitive test scores demonstrated no relationship to maternal thyroid function. No link was observed between higher T₄ in newborns and poorer scores when aged 3 years on the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test (0.2; 95% CI, –0.1 to 0.5) or the Wide Range Assessment of Visual Motor Abilities (0.1; 95% CI, –0.2 to 0.3), when adjusted for child and maternal characteristics.

Higher T₄ in newborns was however linked to poorer scores on the visual recognition memory test for infants aged 6 months (–0.5; 95% CI, –0.9 to –0.2), according to the study.

J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2009;94:497-503.