title: Thyroid-Stimulating Hormone (TSH) Concentration at Birth in Belgian Neonates and Cognitive Development at Preschool Age.
abstract: The main objective of the study was to investigate the effect of MID during late pregnancy, assessed by the thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) concentration at neonatal screening, on cognitive development of preschool children. A retrospective cohort study including 311 Belgian preschool children of 4-6 years old was conducted. Children were selected at random from the total list of neonates screened in 2008, 2009, and 2010 by the Brussels new-born screening center. Infants with congenital hypothyroidism, low birth weight, and/or prematurity were excluded from the selection. The selected children were stratified by gender and TSH-range (0.45-15 mIU/L). Cognitive abilities were assessed using Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence-third edition. In addition, several socioeconomic, parental, and child confounding factors were assessed. Neonatal TSH concentration-a surrogate marker for MID-was not associated with Full Scale and Performance IQ scores in children. Lower Verbal IQ scores were found in children with neonatal TSH values comprised between 10-15 mIU/L compared to lower TSH levels in univariate analysis but these results did not hold when adjusting for confounding factors. Current levels of iodine deficiency among pregnant Belgian women may not be severe enough to affect the neurodevelopment of preschool children.
authors.affiliation: Unit of Public Health and Surveillance, Scientific Institute of Public Health, Rue Juliette Wytsman 14, 1050 Brussels, Belgium. caroline.trumpff@wiv-isp.be.|Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Boulevard de la Plaine 2, 1050 Brussels, Belgium. caroline.trumpff@wiv-isp.be.|Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, Université Libre de Bruxelles, avenue F.D. Roosevelt 50, 1050 Brussels, Belgium. caroline.trumpff@wiv-isp.be.
authors.forename: Caroline
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Trumpff
authors.affiliation: Department of Paediatric Endocrinology, UZ Brussel, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Avenue du Laerbeek 101, 1090 Brussels, Belgium. Jean.DeSchepper@uzbrussel.be.
authors.forename: Jean
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: De Schepper
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Boulevard de la Plaine 2, 1050 Brussels, Belgium. jvdfaeil@vub.ac.be.
authors.forename: Johan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Vanderfaeillie
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, Université Libre de Bruxelles, avenue F.D. Roosevelt 50, 1050 Brussels, Belgium. nvercr@ulb.ac.be.
authors.forename: Nathalie
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Vercruysse
authors.affiliation: Unit of Public Health and Surveillance, Scientific Institute of Public Health, Rue Juliette Wytsman 14, 1050 Brussels, Belgium. Herman.VanOyen@wiv-isp.be.
authors.forename: Herman
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Van Oyen
authors.affiliation: Department of Nuclear Medicine, Erasmus Hospital, Université Libre de Bruxelles, Route de Lennik 808, 1070 Brussels, Belgium. rmorenor@ulb.ac.be.
authors.forename: Rodrigo
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Moreno-Reyes
authors.affiliation: Unit of Public Health and Surveillance, Scientific Institute of Public Health, Rue Juliette Wytsman 14, 1050 Brussels, Belgium. Jean.Tafforeau@wiv-isp.be.
authors.forename: Jean
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Tafforeau
authors.affiliation: Medical Microbiology Laboratory, Communicable and Infectious Diseases, Scientific Institute of Public Health, Rue Engeland 642, 1180 Brussels, Belgium. Jean.Vanderpas@wiv-isp.be.
authors.forename: Jean
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Vanderpas
authors.affiliation: Unit of Public Health and Surveillance, Scientific Institute of Public Health, Rue Juliette Wytsman 14, 1050 Brussels, Belgium. Stefanie.Vandevijvere@wiv-isp.be.
authors.forename: Stefanie
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Vandevijvere
mesh_terms: D001530:Belgium / Q000453:epidemiology; D002648:Child; D002657:Child Development; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003071:Cognition; D015331:Cohort Studies; D015986:Confounding Factors, Epidemiologic; D003677:Deficiency Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008607:Intellectual Disability / Q000209:etiology; D007360:Intelligence; D007455:Iodine / Q000172:deficiency* / Q000378:metabolism; D008297:Male; D009035:Mothers; D015997:Neonatal Screening; D011247:Pregnancy; D011248:Pregnancy Complications; D039401:Prenatal Nutritional Physiological Phenomena; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D013972:Thyrotropin / Q000097:blood*
chemical_list: D013972:Thyrotropin; D007455:Iodine
keywords: cognitive development; iodine deficiency; pregnancy; preschool children; thyroid-stimulating hormone