Abstract

Introduction: Pregnancy is a physiological state in which significant changes in thyroid function occur. Several factors contribute to these changes. These factors could contribute to thyroid dysfunction during pregnancy especially when a deficiency of iodine intake exists and when thyroid reserve is not sufficient.

Aim: To assess thyroid function tests during pregnancy.

Subjects  and  methods:  cross-sectional  study  was  carried  out  on  100  pregnant  women  attending  obstetrics  outpatient  clinic  in  Suez  Canal  university  hospitals  were  invited  to  enroll in the study. At end of study, the blood samples were assessed for free T3, free T4 and TSH.

Results:  Our  study  revealed  that  most  of  pregnant  women  had  normal  thyroid  functions  (51%), while subclinical hypothyroidism (39%) was the most prevalent disorder followed by clinical hypothyroidism (6%) and isolated hypothyroxinemia (4%).

Conclusion:  The  most  prevalent  pattern  of  thyroid  dysfunction  in  pregnant  women  was  subclinical hypothyroidism.

Keywords

endocrine disorder, thyroid hormones, physiological state, pregnant women