title: Maternal autoimmune thyroiditis and congenital malformations of newborns in a cohort of Slovak women.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Aim of this study was to compare the thyroidal status of mothers to children with and without congenital malformations (CM).
  
  
  METHODS
  We examined 129 mothers of newborns with CM and 228 mothers without CM. The assessment included particular history, physical examination, thyroid ultrasonography, fT4, TSH, and anti-TPO measurement of mothers and comparison to birth proportions of newborns.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The total volume of the thyroid gland and anti-TPO levels were significantly higher in mothers of the group with CM (p < 0.001 and p < 0.01, respectively). The birth weight and length were significantly lower in the group with congenital malformation when compared to controls (p < 0.0001 and p < 0.001, respectively).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Based on the results of our study, we suggest that thyroid diseases of a mother might participate in congenital malformations of their newborn, although no direct association between thyroid autoantibodies and congenital malformations has been described as of yet.
authors.affiliation: Pavol Jozef Šafárik University, Košice, Slovak Republic.
authors.forename: Viola
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Vargová
authors.forename: Marek
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Pytliak
authors.forename: Viola
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Mechírová
authors.forename: Marek
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Felšöci
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001323:Autoantibodies / Q000097:blood; D000013:Congenital Abnormalities / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology*; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007037:Hypothyroidism / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007453:Iodide Peroxidase / Q000276:immunology; D011247:Pregnancy; D011248:Pregnancy Complications / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology*; D012307:Risk Factors; D018154:Slovakia; D013960:Thyroid Function Tests; D013967:Thyroiditis, Autoimmune / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology*; D016216:Ultrasonography, Prenatal
chemical_list: D001323:Autoantibodies; D007453:Iodide Peroxidase