Evaluation of neurodevelopment of children with congenital hypothyroidism by the Denver Developmental Screening Test
-
Ayşe Derya Buluş
and
Esra Tiftik
Abstract
Background:
Thyroid hormones are essential for growth and brain development in childhood. Although congenital hypothyroidism (CH) is the most common reason for mental retardation, normal neurological development can be achieved through early and effective treatment. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the neurological development of CH patients aged 24–56 months.
Methods:
The study included a total of 116 healthy control subjects and 112 patients aged 24–56 months who were diagnosed with CH during the neonatal period and were being followed up at the Pediatric Endocrinology Department, Keçiören Training and Research Hospital, between 2012 and 2015. Demographics and clinical data of interventions and outcomes were retrieved for each patient. Statistical analysis was performed using an unpaired Student’s t-test to compare means and χ2-analysis to compare proportions.
Results:
There were no significant differences between the CH and control groups with respect to gestational age, birth weight, height standard deviation scores (HSDS) and body weight standard deviation scores (BWSDS) (p>0.05). When the groups were compared according to the Denver Developmental Screening Test (DDST), no significant differences were found in terms of personal-social, fine motor skills, or language development (p=0.325, p=0.087 and p=0.636, respectively). However, a significant difference was found between the two groups with respect to gross motor development and the result of the DDST (p=0.001). No statistical difference was found between the control and patient groups on the day of starting treatment but the number of patients with an abnormal result in the DDST starting treatment at >15 days was found to be significantly higher than the number of patients starting treatment ≤15 days. No associations were found between the DDST results of the CH group and the following factors: initial L-thyroxine (LT4) level, initial LT4 dose and the onset of treatment.
Conclusions:
The findings of this study indicate that the DDST results in patients with CH are generally good. Initiating treatment immediately after diagnosis and during the first days of life is absolutely imperative. However, in contrast to timing, we could not find strong evidence for determining the precise optimal dosage of LT4 to initiate treatment in children diagnosed with CH. Both the American Academy of Pediatrics and the European Society for Pediatric Endocrinology recommend 10–15 μg/kg/day as the initial dose.
Author contributions: All the authors have accepted responsibility for the entire content of this submitted manuscript and approved submission.
Research funding: None declared.
Employment or leadership: None declared.
Honorarium: None declared.
Competing interests: The funding organization(s) played no role in the study design; in the collection, analysis, and interpretation of data; in the writing of the report; or in the decision to submit the report for publication.
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©2017 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston
Articles in the same Issue
- Frontmatter
- Review
- Individualised growth response optimisation (iGRO) tool: an accessible and easy-to-use growth prediction system to enable treatment optimisation for children treated with growth hormone
- Original Articles
- Relation of insulin resistance to neurocognitive function and electroencephalography in obese children
- Body weight misperception and health-related factors among Iranian children and adolescents: the CASPIAN-V study
- Do sufficient vitamin D levels at the end of summer in children and adolescents provide an assurance of vitamin D sufficiency at the end of winter? A cohort study
- Type 3 renal tubular acidosis associated with growth hormone deficiency
- Serum α-klotho levels are not informative for the evaluation of growth hormone secretion in short children
- Evaluation of neurodevelopment of children with congenital hypothyroidism by the Denver Developmental Screening Test
- Pediatric differentiated thyroid carcinoma: trends in practice and outcomes over 40 years at a single tertiary care institution
- Physical activity and bone mineral density at the femoral neck subregions in adolescents with Down syndrome
- A pilot study on the utility of reduced urine collection frequency protocols for the assessment of reproductive hormones in adolescent girls
- MODY in Ukraine: genes, clinical phenotypes and treatment
- A retrospective review of initial bisphosphonate infusion in an inpatient vs. outpatient setting for bisphosphonate naïve patients
- Molecular genetic and clinical delineation of 22 patients with congenital hypogonadotropic hypogonadism
- Letter to the Editor
- Rare cases of galactose metabolic disorders: identification of more than two mutations per patient
- Case Reports
- When one disease is not enough: succinyl-CoA: 3-oxoacid coenzyme A transferase (SCOT) deficiency due to a novel mutation in OXCT1 in an infant with known phenylketonuria
- Pseudohypoparathyroidism type 1B associated with assisted reproductive technology
- Long QT syndrome diagnosed in two sisters with propionic acidemia: a case report
- Delayed diagnosis of proopiomelanocortin (POMC) deficiency with type 1 diabetes in a 9-year-old girl and her infant sibling
Articles in the same Issue
- Frontmatter
- Review
- Individualised growth response optimisation (iGRO) tool: an accessible and easy-to-use growth prediction system to enable treatment optimisation for children treated with growth hormone
- Original Articles
- Relation of insulin resistance to neurocognitive function and electroencephalography in obese children
- Body weight misperception and health-related factors among Iranian children and adolescents: the CASPIAN-V study
- Do sufficient vitamin D levels at the end of summer in children and adolescents provide an assurance of vitamin D sufficiency at the end of winter? A cohort study
- Type 3 renal tubular acidosis associated with growth hormone deficiency
- Serum α-klotho levels are not informative for the evaluation of growth hormone secretion in short children
- Evaluation of neurodevelopment of children with congenital hypothyroidism by the Denver Developmental Screening Test
- Pediatric differentiated thyroid carcinoma: trends in practice and outcomes over 40 years at a single tertiary care institution
- Physical activity and bone mineral density at the femoral neck subregions in adolescents with Down syndrome
- A pilot study on the utility of reduced urine collection frequency protocols for the assessment of reproductive hormones in adolescent girls
- MODY in Ukraine: genes, clinical phenotypes and treatment
- A retrospective review of initial bisphosphonate infusion in an inpatient vs. outpatient setting for bisphosphonate naïve patients
- Molecular genetic and clinical delineation of 22 patients with congenital hypogonadotropic hypogonadism
- Letter to the Editor
- Rare cases of galactose metabolic disorders: identification of more than two mutations per patient
- Case Reports
- When one disease is not enough: succinyl-CoA: 3-oxoacid coenzyme A transferase (SCOT) deficiency due to a novel mutation in OXCT1 in an infant with known phenylketonuria
- Pseudohypoparathyroidism type 1B associated with assisted reproductive technology
- Long QT syndrome diagnosed in two sisters with propionic acidemia: a case report
- Delayed diagnosis of proopiomelanocortin (POMC) deficiency with type 1 diabetes in a 9-year-old girl and her infant sibling
