Prevalence and correlates of hypothyroidism in pregnancy: a cross-sectional study at Bouget General Hospital, Ivory Coast

Abstract

Introduction: several adverse pregnancy outcomes have been reported in gestations with associated hypothyroidism. The prevalence of hypothyroidism has not been frequently reported in Black Africans. This study sorts to report the prevalence and associated factors of hypothyroidism in black African pregnant women.

Methods: this was a hospital-based cross-sectional study, including all pregnant women attending the gynecologic unit of Bouget General Hospital Abidjan. Serum thyroid-stimulating hormone and T4 were obtained from all participants and analyzed using a fluorescent Immunochemistry assay. Data were analyzed using R version 4.05. Univariable and multivariable logistic regression was used to assess factors associated with hypothyroidism and statistical significance considered as p < 0.05.

Results: overall there were 693 participants, mean age of 28.1(SD 6.4) years with an average gestational age of 24.1 (SD 8) weeks, and a majority of study participants were in the second trimester of gestation. The prevalence of hypothyroidism was 12.1% (n = 84) (10.8% subclinical hypothyroidism and 1.3% clinical hypothyroidism) whereas 1.9% (n = 13) had hyperthyroidism. In addition, patients with reported type 1 diabetes mellitus had an increased risk of hypothyroidism (aOR: 12.6, 95% CI 1.9-100.8; p ≤ 0.01).

Conclusion: this study revealed a high prevalence of hypothyroidism, though mostly in the subclinical form. Further research is warranted to confirm these findings which may have implications on early screening of hypothyroidism in Black African women.