Study Finds No Correlation Between Newborn Thryoid Function within Normal Range, Cognitive Developme
There is no correlation between newborn thyroid function within the normal range and cognitive development, nor is there a correlative between maternal thyroid function and newborn thyroid function in a Boston-area sample, according to data to be presented on Oct. 4, 2008 at the 79th Annual Meeting of the American Thyroid Association (ATA) in Chicago, IL. Normal thyroid function is essential for healthy brain development. Previous studies have suggested that even mild maternal hypothyroidism during pregnancy may adversely affect child cognitive development.
On behalf of Project Viva, a team of researchers led by Dr. Emily Oken of Harvard Medical School and Harvard Pilgrim Health Care and Dr. Elizabeth Pearce of Boston University Medical Center in Boston, Mass., studied 500 children born 1999-2003 to evaluate the relationship between thyroxine levels in newborns, first trimester maternal thyroid function, and childhood cognition. Researchers first tested mothers’ thyroid stimulating hormone, thyroxine, and thyroid peroxidase (TPO) antibody levels at an average of 10.2 weeks gestation and later measured newborns’ thyroxine levels from whole blood samples after birth.
Researchers then performed cognitive testing when the infants were six months old using the visual recognition memory (VRM) test, a measure of infant cognition that can predict later childhood IQ and specific abilities in perceptual speed, language, and memory. When the children were three years old, researchers tested them with the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test (PPVT), a measure of verbal ability or scholastic aptitude, and the Wide Range Assessment of Visual Motor Ability (WRAVMA), which evaluates visual-spatial analysis, visual-motor ability, and fine motor skills.
