Thyroid status and its association with cognitive functioning in healthy boys at 10 years of age.
OBJECTIVE
Thyroid hormones (THs) are crucial for the correct maturation of the CNS and the neurodevelopment of the child. We aimed to investigate the association of TSH and free thyroxine (FT4) levels with cognitive functioning in children from the INMA-Granada cohort studied during their follow-up at the age of 9-11 years.


METHODS
We evaluated 300 children from the original cohort, which comprised 668 eligible mother-son pairs recruited at birth from 2000 to 2002 in Granada (Spain).


METHODS
FT4 and TSH concentrations were measured, and cognitive development was assessed using neuropsychological tests (n=187). Children with chronic disease related to thyroid function and/or cognitive development were excluded.


RESULTS
Median TSH and FT4 levels were 3.1 μIU/ml and 1.2 ng/dl respectively. In multivariable regression analyses adjusted for maternal and child characteristics, children with TSH levels in the top tertile had worse verbal comprehension and immediate and long-term recall. Children with FT4 levels in the top tertile had better attention and lower impulsivity and were at a lower risk of scoring below the 20th percentile in intelligence quotient (OR=0.24; 95% CI=0.08-0.74; P=0.013) and in abstract reasoning ability (OR=0.28; 95% CI=0.09-0.88; P=0.029).


CONCLUSIONS
Our findings indicate that circulating THs and TSH may in the top tertile have an impact on cognitive functions; thus, higher TSH slightly but significantly increased the risk of a lower score in certain neuropsychological tests.
Unit Research Support of the San Cecilio University HospitalInstituto de Investigación Biosanitaria ibs.Granada, University of Granada, 18071 Granada, SpainOncology UnitVirgen de las Nieves University Hospital, Granada, SpainDepartment of GynecologyInstituto de Investigación Biosanitaria de Granada, San Cecilio University Hospital, University of Granada, 18071 Granada, SpainDepartment of Clinical PsychologyUniversity of Granada, San Cecilio University Hospital, Institute of Neuroscience F, Oloriz, 18071 Granada, SpainCIBER en Epidemiología y Salud Pública (CIBERESP)Granada, Spain.
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Pérez-Lobato
Unit Research Support of the San Cecilio University HospitalInstituto de Investigación Biosanitaria ibs.Granada, University of Granada, 18071 Granada, SpainOncology UnitVirgen de las Nieves University Hospital, Granada, SpainDepartment of GynecologyInstituto de Investigación Biosanitaria de Granada, San Cecilio University Hospital, University of Granada, 18071 Granada, SpainDepartment of Clinical PsychologyUniversity of Granada, San Cecilio University Hospital, Institute of Neuroscience F, Oloriz, 18071 Granada, SpainCIBER en Epidemiología y Salud Pública (CIBERESP)Granada, Spain.
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Ramos
Unit Research Support of the San Cecilio University HospitalInstituto de Investigación Biosanitaria ibs.Granada, University of Granada, 18071 Granada, SpainOncology UnitVirgen de las Nieves University Hospital, Granada, SpainDepartment of GynecologyInstituto de Investigación Biosanitaria de Granada, San Cecilio University Hospital, University of Granada, 18071 Granada, SpainDepartment of Clinical PsychologyUniversity of Granada, San Cecilio University Hospital, Institute of Neuroscience F, Oloriz, 18071 Granada, SpainCIBER en Epidemiología y Salud Pública (CIBERESP)Granada, Spain Unit Research Support of the San Cecilio University HospitalInstituto de Investigación Biosanitaria ibs.Granada, University of Granada, 18071 Granada, SpainOncology UnitVirgen de las Nieves University Hospital, Granada, SpainDepartment of GynecologyInstituto de Investigación Biosanitaria de Granada, San Cecilio University Hospital, University of Granada, 18071 Granada, SpainDepartment of Clinical PsychologyUniversity of Granada, San Cecilio University Hospital, Institute of Neuroscience F, Oloriz, 18071 Granada, SpainCIBER en Epidemiología y Salud Pública (CIBERESP)Granada, Spain.
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Arrebola
Unit Research Support of the San Cecilio University HospitalInstituto de Investigación Biosanitaria ibs.Granada, University of Granada, 18071 Granada, SpainOncology UnitVirgen de las Nieves University Hospital, Granada, SpainDepartment of GynecologyInstituto de Investigación Biosanitaria de Granada, San Cecilio University Hospital, University of Granada, 18071 Granada, SpainDepartment of Clinical PsychologyUniversity of Granada, San Cecilio University Hospital, Institute of Neuroscience F, Oloriz, 18071 Granada, SpainCIBER en Epidemiología y Salud Pública (CIBERESP)Granada, Spain.
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Calvente
Unit Research Support of the San Cecilio University HospitalInstituto de Investigación Biosanitaria ibs.Granada, University of Granada, 18071 Granada, SpainOncology UnitVirgen de las Nieves University Hospital, Granada, SpainDepartment of GynecologyInstituto de Investigación Biosanitaria de Granada, San Cecilio University Hospital, University of Granada, 18071 Granada, SpainDepartment of Clinical PsychologyUniversity of Granada, San Cecilio University Hospital, Institute of Neuroscience F, Oloriz, 18071 Granada, SpainCIBER en Epidemiología y Salud Pública (CIBERESP)Granada, Spain.
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Ocón-Hernández
Unit Research Support of the San Cecilio University HospitalInstituto de Investigación Biosanitaria ibs.Granada, University of Granada, 18071 Granada, SpainOncology UnitVirgen de las Nieves University Hospital, Granada, SpainDepartment of GynecologyInstituto de Investigación Biosanitaria de Granada, San Cecilio University Hospital, University of Granada, 18071 Granada, SpainDepartment of Clinical PsychologyUniversity of Granada, San Cecilio University Hospital, Institute of Neuroscience F, Oloriz, 18071 Granada, SpainCIBER en Epidemiología y Salud Pública (CIBERESP)Granada, Spain.
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Dávila-Arias
Unit Research Support of the San Cecilio University HospitalInstituto de Investigación Biosanitaria ibs.Granada, University of Granada, 18071 Granada, SpainOncology UnitVirgen de las Nieves University Hospital, Granada, SpainDepartment of GynecologyInstituto de Investigación Biosanitaria de Granada, San Cecilio University Hospital, University of Granada, 18071 Granada, SpainDepartment of Clinical PsychologyUniversity of Granada, San Cecilio University Hospital, Institute of Neuroscience F, Oloriz, 18071 Granada, SpainCIBER en Epidemiología y Salud Pública (CIBERESP)Granada, Spain.
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Pérez-García
Unit Research Support of the San Cecilio University HospitalInstituto de Investigación Biosanitaria ibs.Granada, University of Granada, 18071 Granada, SpainOncology UnitVirgen de las Nieves University Hospital, Granada, SpainDepartment of GynecologyInstituto de Investigación Biosanitaria de Granada, San Cecilio University Hospital, University of Granada, 18071 Granada, SpainDepartment of Clinical PsychologyUniversity of Granada, San Cecilio University Hospital, Institute of Neuroscience F, Oloriz, 18071 Granada, SpainCIBER en Epidemiología y Salud Pública (CIBERESP)Granada, Spain Unit Research Support of the San Cecilio University HospitalInstituto de Investigación Biosanitaria ibs.Granada, University of Granada, 18071 Granada, SpainOncology UnitVirgen de las Nieves University Hospital, Granada, SpainDepartment of GynecologyInstituto de Investigación Biosanitaria de Granada, San Cecilio University Hospital, University of Granada, 18071 Granada, SpainDepartment of Clinical PsychologyUniversity of Granada, San Cecilio University Hospital, Institute of Neuroscience F, Oloriz, 18071 Granada, SpainCIBER en Epidemiología y Salud Pública (CIBERESP)Granada, Spain.
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Olea
Unit Research Support of the San Cecilio University HospitalInstituto de Investigación Biosanitaria ibs.Granada, University of Granada, 18071 Granada, SpainOncology UnitVirgen de las Nieves University Hospital, Granada, SpainDepartment of GynecologyInstituto de Investigación Biosanitaria de Granada, San Cecilio University Hospital, University of Granada, 18071 Granada, SpainDepartment of Clinical PsychologyUniversity of Granada, San Cecilio University Hospital, Institute of Neuroscience F, Oloriz, 18071 Granada, SpainCIBER en Epidemiología y Salud Pública (CIBERESP)Granada, Spain Unit Research Support of the San Cecilio University HospitalInstituto de Investigación Biosanitaria ibs.Granada, University of Granada, 18071 Granada, SpainOncology UnitVirgen de las Nieves University Hospital, Granada, SpainDepartment of GynecologyInstituto de Investigación Biosanitaria de Granada, San Cecilio University Hospital, University of Granada, 18071 Granada, SpainDepartment of Clinical PsychologyUniversity of Granada, San Cecilio University Hospital, Institute of Neuroscience F, Oloriz, 18071 Granada, SpainCIBER en Epidemiología y Salud Pública (CIBERESP)Granada, Spain marieta@ugr.es.
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Fernández
D000328:Adult; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000097:blood; D002648:Child; D002657:Child Development / Q000502:physiology*; D003071:Cognition / Q000502:physiology*; D015331:Cohort Studies; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D013961:Thyroid Gland / Q000254:growth & development / Q000378:metabolism*; D013972:Thyrotropin / Q000097:blood*
D015415:Biomarkers; D013972:Thyrotropin