Prevalence of Postpartum Thyroiditis in the Eastern Regions of Iran

Background: Postpartum thyroiditis can have negative impacts on the lives of mothers and infants. The prevalence of this disorder has been shown to be dramatically different in various geographic regions. Despite its importance, there are still no standard recommendations for the screening of this disorder. Thus, determining the prevalence of this disorder is an important factor in decisions regarding universal screening.
Objectives: This study was performed in order to evaluate the prevalence of postpartum thyroiditis in the northeast region of Iran.
Patients and Methods: Mothers who brought their children to 3 health centers for vaccinations at 2–3 months, 4–5 months, and 6–7 months after delivery were included in this study. Blood sampling was performed in order to determine the random blood sugar, thyroid-stimulating hormone, triiodothyronin radioimmunoassay (RIA), tetraiodothyronin RIA, anti-thyroglobulin, and anti-thyroid peroxidase levels.
Results: A total of 842 women with a mean ± standard deviation age of 26.17 ± 5.7 years completed the study, with 20.3% seen at 2–3 months after delivery, 32.4% seen at 4–5 months after delivery, and 46.9% seen at 6–7 months after delivery. A total of 63 mothers (7.5%) developed postpartum thyroiditis. Of these, 44 (5.2%) of the participants proved to have hyperthyroidism and 19 (2.3%) had hypothyroidism. Thus, 779 (91.9%) mothers were euthyroid at the time of the study. We did not find any correlations between a family history of thyroid disorder, breast feeding, age, or the gender of the infants with postpartum thyroiditis occurrence.
Conclusions: Postpartum thyroiditis is relatively common in the northeast region of Iran. Screening policies may help to detect these patients sooner.

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