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Examining clinical and laboratory characteristics in 3-14-year-old children with hypothyroidism
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Behzad Darabi    , Reza Najafi * , Hosain Seyedkhani , Maysam Asgari , Fatemeh Najafi , Sajad Khodayari |
| Ilam University of Medical Sciences |
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Abstract: (696 Views) |
Background and Objective: Thyroid diseases, based on the presence of anti-thyroid antibodies, are divided into two groups of autoimmune and non-autoimmune thyroid diseases. Anti-thyroglobulin antibodies are a poor indicator of the differentiation of autoimmune thyroid diseases from non-autoimmune ones. On the other hand, anti-microsomal antibodies (Anti-TPO) are specific to autoimmune diseases. It is reasonable to measure anti-thyroid antibodies in people with high levels of thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) since positive results will identify those likely to be clinically hypothyroid. This study aimed to determine the clinical and laboratory characteristics of children aged 3-14 years with hypothyroidism.
Materials and Methods: This was a cross-sectional and retrospective descriptive-analytic study. The research population in this study included hypothyroid children referred to the Pediatric Clinic of Ilam, Iran, in 1397. Considering a 95% confidence interval, an error of 12%, and a ratio of 50%, the sample number was estimated to be 67. Participants were selected through simple random sampling.
Results: This study was performed on 103 children with hypothyroidism referred to a pediatric clinic. The mean age of the children was 21.28±19.3 years, with 27.2% being under 5 years, 64.1% between 5-12, and 8.7% more than 12 years. The mean anti-thyroid peroxidase (TPO) and TSH were 62.27±129.29 and 13.58±22.79, respectively. In total, 41.7% of the sample were male, and 58.3% were female. Furthermore, 13.6% of children had positive familial history, and 83.5% had a normal anti-TPO. Moreover, 18.4% of children had goiter, and 15.5% had autoimmune diseases. The mean anti-TPO and TSH were higher in female children than male children. There was no statically significant difference between the two genders regarding TSH. However, the Pearson correlation coefficient showed a direct correlation between anti-TPO and TSH with age, so with an increase in age, the anti-TPO and TSH levels increased significantly. There was also a significant difference in anti-TPO in different BMI groups, but this difference was not significant in TSH.
Conclusion: Iodine deficiency is recognized as a health problem in Iran, and the main strategy for controlling it is the use of iodized salt throughout the country. It is considered the most important differential diagnosis of thyroid autoimmunity considering the mountainous nature of the region, as well as the low iodine intake and mortality. This region is likely to have a higher prevalence of thyroid disorders. The lower TPO and goiter antibody titer may confirm that thyroid disorders are more prevalent in this area due to iodine deficiency and genetic differences rather than autoimmune disorders, and the notable prevalence of goiter suggests other factors causing goiter. |
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| Keywords: Clinical, Hypothyroidism, Laboratory |
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Full-Text [PDF 650 kb]
(292 Downloads)
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Type of Study: Applied research |
Subject:
Special
Received: 2023/02/24 | Accepted: 2023/02/28 | Published: 2023/04/19
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