Prevalence of Subclinical Hypothyroidism in Patients with Recurrent Miscarriages

Abstract

Background: Subclinical hypothyroidism poses a concealed threat to reproductive health. With evidence hinting at its prevalence in recurrent miscarriages, this study delves into unraveling the intricacies of this relationship for comprehensive understanding and improved clinical outcomes. Objective: To determine prevalence of subclinical hypothyroidism in patients with recurrent miscarriages. Study Design: Descriptive cross-sectional study. Settings: This study was conducted at the Department of Medicine, DHQ Teaching Hospital, KMU Institute of Medical Sciences, Kohat Pakistan. Duration: 6 months period from Jan-Jun, 2023. Methods: A total of 224 women meeting inclusion criteria were included in the study after taking informed written consent. Blood samples were taken as per standard hygiene protocol and send hospital lab for thyroid profile. Subclinical hypothyroidism was labeled when serum TSH level was ≥4.0 mIU/L and the patients didn’t have clinical symptoms of hypothyroidism. All the data was collected in a predesigned format and data analysis was done using SPSS 27.0. Results: Mean age of the patients in this study was 29.01±6.61 years wherein 58.0% (n=130) patients were in the age group of 18-30 years while remaining 42% (n=94) were in the age group of 31-40 years. As regards parity, 50.9% (n=114) patients were nulliparas, 28.1% (n=63) were primiparas and 21.0% (n=47) were multiparas. Mean BMI of the study sample was 24.87±3.7 kg/m2 wherein 52.7% (n=118) participants were normal weight, 37.9% (n=85) were overweight and only 9.4% (n=21) were obese. Previous number of miscarriages were almost same amount all the three groups as 3 miscarriages (33.5%), 4 miscarriages (35.7%) and 5 miscarriages (30.8%). Subclinical hypothyroidism was observed in 18.3% (n=41) patients. Frequency of mischarge was stratified on the basis of age, parity, BMI and previous number of miscarriage, it produced insignificant different for all the subgroups (p-value=0.05). Conclusion: In conclusion, our study highlights a consistent prevalence of subclinical hypothyroidism (18.3%) in women with recurrent miscarriage. This aligns with global findings, emphasizing the significance of thyroid dysfunction. These insights underscore the importance of routine thyroid screening in the management of recurrent miscarriage, guiding targeted interventions for improved reproductive outcomes.