Thyroid problems linked to pre-eclampsia in pregnancy
Thursday November 19th, 2009
By Jane Collingwood
A dangerous complication of pregnancy may be linked to thyroid problems,
researchers warned yesterday.
In
new research, pre-eclampsia has been linked to reduced thyroid function
both during and after pregnancy.
Pre-eclampsia is a pregnancy-related condition in which women develop dangerously high blood pressure and excess protein in the urine. It can be fatal for the mother and baby.
Earlier research suggests that pre-eclampsia can put women at increased risk of future heart and kidney disease.
Dr Richard Levine of the National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, USA, and colleagues investigated whether the condition is linked to reduced thyroid function (hypothyroidism).
They used figures from the Calcium for Pre-eclampsia Prevention trial, including 141 women whose blood serum levels of thyroid stimulating hormone were measured at 21 weeks' gestation and after pre-eclampsia began.
Figures were also available from a Norwegian study of 7,121 mothers whose thyroid stimulating hormone levels were monitored for 20 years. Results appear on the website of the British Medical Journal.
Analysis showed that women with pre-eclampsia had raised levels of thyroid stimulating hormone just before delivery. Their levels were on average twice as high as women without pre-eclampsia. Further tests showed that higher levels were strongly linked to excess tyrosine kinase, a protein known to contribute to pre-eclampsia.
Results from the Norwegian study indicated that women who had pre-eclampsia in their first pregnancy had higher levels of thyroid stimulating hormone many years later, especially if they had pre-eclampsia in two pregnancies.
"Women with a history of pre-eclampsia may be at increased risk of future hypothyroid function," the authors conclude.
Dr Susan Shurin, acting director of the US National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, said: "Reduced thyroid functioning is easy to diagnose when suspected, and inexpensive to treat. Replacement therapy substantially improves quality of life of affected persons."
Tags: Childbirth and Pregnancy | North America | Nursing & Midwifery | Women’s Health & Gynaecology
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