The prevalence of subclinical thyroid disease in a sample of pregnant women with hypertension during labor: A cross-sectional study

Abstract

Background and objective: Hypertensive disorders during pregnancy remain one of the major causes of maternal and fetal morbidity and death. Subclinical thyroid disease may play an important underlying cause of hypertension during pregnancy. This study aimed to find out the prevalence of subclinical thyroid disease in a sample of pregnant women with hypertension during labor.Methods: A cross sectional study was performed at the Maternity Teaching Hospital, Erbil city, Kurdistan region, Iraq, from January to December 2016.Two hundred fifty women were included in this study, all with hypertension related to pregnancy (pregnancy induced hypertension, pre-eclampsia, and eclampsia). The TSH and serum free T4 levels were estimated and the participants were classified to be euthyroid, subclinical hyperthyroid, or subclinical hypothyroid. A specially designed questionnaire was used to collect data.Results: Of the 250 women included in our study, 191 (76.4%) had TSH levels within the normal range and were considered to be euthyroid, 59 (23.4%) had TSH levels more than 4 milliunits/L meeting the criteria of sub-clinical hypothyroidism. There were no cases of subclinical hyperthyroidism (TSH level below normal).Conclusion: Subclinical thyroid disease may be a contributory factor in the development of hypertension during pregnancy. No correlation was found between subclinical hyperthyroidism and hypertension during pregnancy.