Prevalence of gestational hypothyroidism and factors related in mothers treated at the Pablo Jaramillo Crespo Humanitarian Hospital

Abstract

Background: thyroid hormones are essential in human development, especially during pregnancy, where hormonal imbalances are associated with pathologies in both the mother and the newborn. Gestational hypothyroidism has a variable prevalence worldwide, particularly in Latin America, due to the lack of a universally accepted cutoff value for thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) during pregnancy, making its diagnosis controversial.

Objective: to determine the prevalence of gestational hypothyroidism and its association with factors related to the disease in pregnant women attended at the Hospital Humanitario Fundación Pablo Jaramillo Crespo.

Methodology: an analytical cross-sectional study was conducted on a population of 2013 pregnant women attending outpatient gynecology and obstetrics consultations during the period 2021-2022. Information was collected from the patients' medical records. Quantitative variables were analyzed using measures of central tendency and dispersion, and qualitative variables were analyzed using frequency tables and percentages. The relationship between variables was evaluated using the Chi-square test (p < 0,05), and the association was estimated using the Prevalence Odds Ratio (POR) with a 95 % confidence interval.

Results: the prevalence of gestational hypothyroidism was 16,5 %, with an average age of 29 ± 6 years. 69,9 % of participants had malnutrition due to excess, 11,1 % developed gestational diabetes, and 7,2 % had hypertensive disorders of pregnancy. Significant associations were found between gestational hypothyroidism and malnutrition due to excess (POR = 1,39, 95 % CI: 1,12 – 1,73; p < 0,002), gestational diabetes (POR = 1,79; 95 % CI: 1,33 – 2,39; p < 0,001), and hypertensive disorders of pregnancy (POR = 3,12; 95 % CI: 2,30 – 4,23; p < 0,001).

Conclusion: a high prevalence of gestational hypothyroidism was identified, significantly associated with malnutrition due to excess, gestational diabetes, and hypertensive disorders of pregnancy.