Iodine deficiencies and thyroid disease in pregnancy can lead to miscarriages, premature births and malformations in children, so every pregnant woman should undergo thyroid tests and supplement iodine in her diet, doctors said on Tuesday at a press conference in Warsaw.
It was organized as part of the Thyroid Disease Week, which is celebrated on May 24-28.
According to the latest opinion poll, Polish women have little knowledge of the influence of the thyroid gland on fertility, pregnancy and the health of their child. The study was conducted in March and April 2010 in a group of women planning to have children, pregnant or having a child up to five years of age. As much as 54 percent. the surveyed women were not aware of any consequences of iodine deficiency or not treating thyroid diseases mentioned in the questionnaire. And as much as 82 percent. of them have never been diagnosed for dysfunction of this gland.
That is why the organizers of the Thyroid Diseases Awareness Week offer 24 women free tests of TSH and anti-TPO hormones on 28-500 May. They will be carried out in four Polish cities, and you can sign up for them on May 17-21 on the website of the campaign (www.tarczyca.pl).
As emphasized by prof. Janusz Nauman, head of the Endocrinology Clinic of the Medical University of Warsaw, iodine is essential for the production of thyroid hormones – thyroxine and triiodothyronine, and these play very important functions in the body: they regulate the metabolism and proper functioning of all tissues and organs, control the growth of young organisms, sexual development and affect the brain development of fetuses and young children.
Iodine deficiencies and disturbances in the thyroid gland can have a negative impact on the course of pregnancy and contribute to a delay in the mental development of a child. In extreme cases, iodine deficiency leads to severe hypothyroidism and, consequently, to severe mental retardation of the offspring.
The proper development of the fetus requires the availability of thyroid hormones from the sixth – seventh week of pregnancy. The fetus does not yet have a thyroid gland of its own and is dependent on the transmission of hormones from the mother’s body. This means that the thyroid gland of a pregnant woman has additional responsibilities – explained the endocrinologist.
According to him, in the first trimester of pregnancy, a woman’s thyroid increases the production of hormones by 30 percent, and in the second and third trimesters by as much as 50 percent. In order to be able to cope with these tasks, pregnant women should – in accordance with the recommendations of the World Health Organization – increase the daily dose of iodine to 250 micrograms. Together with the standard diet, we provide ourselves with about 100-150 micrograms of this element, so during pregnancy you need to start taking an additional 150 micrograms in the form of supplements – explained Prof. Nauman.
According to prof. Andrzej Lewiński, the president of the Polish Tyreological Society, in Poland, thanks to the introduction in 1997 of the obligatory iodization of table salt with potassium iodide, today there are no iodine deficiencies in the population of children and adults. The only people who require iodine supplementation are pregnant and breastfeeding women, because they are contraindicated in increasing their salt intake – emphasized prof. Lewiński. At the same time, he added that the daily dose of iodine in pregnancy should not exceed 500 micrograms.
As prof. Nauman, studies in many countries around the world show that iodine supplementation during pregnancy and breastfeeding has a positive effect on the intelligence factor of the offspring. Children whose mothers consumed 250 micrograms of this element daily obtained results in intelligence tests by 12%. better than their peers.
Prof. Stanisław Radowicki, the national consultant for obstetrics and gynecology, recalled that the percentage of pregnant women with thyroid problems has increased in recent years and may even reach 5%.
According to the specialist, both hyperthyroidism and hypothyroidism have very negative effects on the course of pregnancy and the development of the fetus. The symptoms of hyperthyroidism include: sweating, weight loss, cardiac arrhythmias, edema and trembling of the limbs, emotional disturbances. Hypothyroidism, caused by either iodine deficiency or an autoimmune disease that destroys the thyroid gland (Hashimoto’s disease), can be identified by symptoms such as increased sleepiness, thin, dry skin, cold intolerance, weight gain, and a hoarse voice.
Both thyroid disorders in pregnancy significantly increase the risk of spontaneous miscarriage, a pre-eclampsia that is life-threatening for both mother and baby. Hyperthyroidism delays the intrauterine development of the fetus, increases the risk of premature rupture of the membranes, and hypothyroidism can lead to premature detachment of the placenta and cause irreversible damage to the fetal brain.
Therefore, according to prof. Radowicki, all women planning pregnancy or who are in the first stage of unplanned pregnancy should undergo thyroid examinations: physical examination and ultrasound of the thyroid gland, assessment of thyrotropin (TSH) concentration, i.e. pituitary hormone which stimulates the secretion of thyroid hormones, concentrations of thyroxine (T4), triiodothyronine (T3) ) and anti-thyroid-peroxidase (anti-TPO) antibodies, which are increased in Hashimoto’s disease.
Currently – in Poland and in the world – such tests are recommended only to patients with an increased risk of thyroid diseases – emphasized prof. Małgorzata Karbownik-Lewińska, head of the Department of Oncological Endocrinology at the Medical University of Łódź. Scientific works indicate, however, that in this way as much as 30 percent is omitted. cases of hypothyroidism (PAP)