부산대학교 도서관

CONTEXT:: Normal maternal thyroid function is important for fetal development. No knowledge exists on how maternal thyroid function and thyroid antibodies during early pregnancy affect thyroid function of the offspring. OBJECTIVE:: The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between maternal and adolescent thyroid function parameters. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS:: A total of 3673 mother-child pairs from the prospective, population-based Northern Finland Birth Cohort 1986 participated in the study. Maternal serum samples were drawn in early pregnancy (<20th gestational week), and childrenʼs samples were drawn at the age of 16 years and analyzed for TSH, free T4 (fT4), and thyroid peroxidase antibodies (TPO-Abs). MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES:: TSH, fT4, and TPO-Ab concentrations were measured at the age of 16 years. Children of mothers with thyroid dysfunction (hypothyroidism, hyperthyroidism, or hypothyroxinemia) or TPO-Ab positivity were compared to those of euthyroid or TPO-Ab-negative mothers. The distributions are expressed as medians with 5th to 95th percentiles. RESULTS:: Boys of hypothyroid mothers had higher TSH concentrations than those of euthyroid mothers: 2.0 (0.9–4.0) vs 1.7 (0.8–3.3) mU/L; P = .001. Children of hyperthyroid mothers had lower TSH concentrations than those of euthyroid mothers: 1.3 (0.6–4.2) vs 1.7 (0.8–3.3) mU/L, P = .013, for boys; and 1.3 (0.5–3.5) vs 1.6 (0.7–3.4) mU/L, P = .034, for girls. There were no differences in TSH or fT4 concentrations between children of hypothyroxinemic and euthyroid mothers. TPO-Ab-positive mothers more often had TPO-Ab-positive children (prevalence, 9.0 vs 3.7% among boys, and 22.7 vs 7.5% among girls). CONCLUSIONS:: Maternal thyroid dysfunction and TPO-Ab positivity during pregnancy seem to modify thyroid function parameters of offspring even in adolescence. Whether this increases the thyroid disease risk of the children is still unknown.