Low thyroid levels can cause miscarriage: study
Reported December 12, 2008
New Delhi Women who suffer from repeated miscarriages should get their thyroid levels checked out, preferably as soon as they learn they are pregnant suggests a study published in the Indian Journal of Medical Sciences.
According to the researchers, hypothyroidism a condition in which the thyroid glands do not produce a sufficient amount of the thyroid hormone has a significant relationship with recurrent pregnancy loss (RPL), especially in the first trimester. RPL can be defined as three or more consecutive spontaneous pregnancy losses before 20 weeks of gestation.
If an expectant mother suffers from hypothyroidism, she does not have sufficient (thyroid) hormones needed for the growth and development of her foetus and has a greater chance of suffering a miscarriage, the study said.
Conducted on 163 healthy non-pregnant women who had two or more miscarriages in the first trimester and with a control group of 170 women without a history of spontaneous abortions, the study found that 4.12 per cent women with RPL had hypothyroidism. Only 0.5 per cent of the control group women also suffered from thyroid deficiency. Losses in the first trimester are the most common complication affecting nearly 15-20 per cent of the pregnancies, the study said. Hypothyroidism was found to be the direct cause of miscarriages in seven women with RPL.
However, with a more regular regimen of regular health check-ups can make a difference, claim the researchers at the Institute of Genetics and Hospitals for Genetic Diseases at Osmania University in Hyderabad.
Since the majority of women are not sure that they are pregnant until four to six weeks after the last menstrual period, they do not go to see doctors and test their thyroid function until the first trimester is almost over, the study says.
Source : expressindia.com