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Maternal hypothyroxinemia predicted poor math skills in offspring
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Children whose mothers experienced hypothyroxinemia at the end of the first pregnancy trimester may have subnormal performance during math tests, according to research presented at the European Society for Pediatric Endocrinology Annual Meeting.
Hormone tests could help identify students likely to need additional help in their studies, said Martijn Finken, MD, of the VU University Medical Center in Amsterdam.
“It is possible that these children could benefit from hormonal supplements to boost their brain development in the womb,” Finken said in a press release. “Such treatment has been tried in the past but as yet has failed to improve cognitive ability, although timing of the treatment could influence its success.”
Finken and colleagues assessed the effect of hypothyroxinemia, or free thyroxine in the lowest 10% of distribution, on test performance in a longitudinal study of 1,196 healthy children from the Amsterdam Born Children and their Development study — from birth to age 5 years.
Maternal serum T4 and thyroid-stimulating hormone were obtained at a median pregnancy duration of 90 days. School performance was based on math and language test scores gathered from the nationwide monitoring and evaluation system; test results <25th percentile were considered poor school performance and <50th percentile subnormal school performance. The researchers used multivariable logistic regression analysis, with repeated analyses after adjusting for family background and perinatal variables.
Hypothyroxinemia was associated with a 1.9-fold increased risk (95% CI, 1.26-2.87) for subnormal performance in math tests (P=.002); the relationship remained after statistical correction. Hypothyroxinemia was also associated with a 1.79-fold increased risk (95% CI, 1.08-2.96) for poor performance in language tests (P=.02), but the significance disappeared with adjustments. No associations were seen with TSH.
“Whether these problems persist into adulthood remains to be seen,” Finken said. “We will continue to follow these children to answer this next big question.”
For more information:
Noten A. Abstract #P1-D2-253. Presented at: European Society for Pediatric Endocrinology Annual Meeting; Sept. 18-20, 2014; Dublin.
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