The Generation R Study, and Department of Epidemiology, Erasmus Medical Center, 3000 CA Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
Pediatr Res. 2011 May;69(5 Pt 1):454-9. doi: 10.1203/PDR.0b013e3182125b0c.
Maternal thyroid function during pregnancy is implicated in the neurodevelopment of the offspring, yet little is known about the effect of maternal thyroid parameters on the behavior of children. We investigated the association of maternal thyroid function during the first half of pregnancy with parent-reported problem behavior of the offspring up to age of 3 y. In the Generation R study, a population-based cohort of 3736 children and their mothers, data on maternal thyroid function and child's behavior were examined. The degree of internalizing and externalizing problems in the children were assessed with the Child Behavior Checklist at ages 1½ and 3 y. Higher levels of maternal TSH during pregnancy predicted a higher externalizing scores in children at 1½ and 3 y (B = 0.22 per SD of TSH; 95% CI: 0.04, 0.40; B = 0.10 per SD for internalizing scores; 95% CI: -0.01, 0.21). Maternal free thyroxine (T4) and total T4 were not associated with internalizing or externalizing scores of children. The linear relationship with more externalizing scores was across the range of TSH; this implies that subtle impairments of maternal thyroid function may affect the child. The results suggest that thyroid function is crucial for fetal brain development, which determines problem behavior later in life.
孕妇甲状腺功能与后代的神经发育有关，但人们对孕妇甲状腺参数对儿童行为的影响知之甚少。我们研究了妊娠前半期母体甲状腺功能与 3 岁以下儿童父母报告的行为问题之间的关系。在 Generation R 研究中，对 3736 名儿童及其母亲进行了一项基于人群的队列研究，检查了母体甲状腺功能和儿童行为的数据。在 1 岁半和 3 岁时，使用儿童行为检查表评估儿童的内化和外化问题程度。妊娠期间母体 TSH 水平升高与儿童 1 岁半和 3 岁时的外化评分较高相关（TSH 每标准差增加 0.22；95%CI：0.04，0.40；内分比评分增加 0.10；95%CI：-0.01，0.21）。母体游离甲状腺素（T4）和总 T4 与儿童的内化或外化评分无关。与更多外化评分的线性关系贯穿于 TSH 范围；这意味着母体甲状腺功能的轻微损伤可能会影响孩子。结果表明，甲状腺功能对胎儿大脑发育至关重要，而大脑发育决定了儿童以后的行为问题。
