Frequency of Thyroid Dysfunction in Patients with Gestational Diabetes

Objective: To determine the frequency of thyroid dysfunction in patients with gestational diabetes. Study Design: Cross sectional study Place and Duration of Study: This study was conducted at the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Dow International Medical College from June 2023-December 2023. Methods: Informed consent was taken. All pregnant women who visited to OPD during 24-28 weeks gestation with gestational diabetes confirmed from 75gm oral glucose tolerance test(OGTT), fasting ≥ 5.1 mmol/l (92 mg/dl); 1-h ≥ 10.0 mmol/l (180 mg/dl); or 2-h ≥ 8.5 mmol/l (153 mg/dl) were subjected for the assessment of serum TSH level for thyroid dysfunction. If patient with serum TSH levels < 0.3 was considered as hyperthyroidism. Patients with serum TSH levels > 4.0 was considered as hypothyroidism. In both cases patient were categorized for thyroid dysfunction. Patients demographic information, such as age, BMI and socioeconomic status were recorded in a self-designed proforma. Women with preexisting diabetes and thyroid dysfunction were excluded. Results: This study was conducted on 213 pregnant patients presenting with gestational diabetes. The mean age of the patients recorded was 29.60±5.93 years. The mean height of the patients was 1.65±0.03 meter. The mean weight of the patients was 72.60±441 kg and the mean BMI recorded was 26.70±20.01 kg/m2. In our study there were 113 (53.1%) patients in the age group of 20 to 30 years and there were 100 (46.9%) patients in the age group of 31 to 40 years. The frequency of thyroid dysfunction in patients with gestational diabetes in our study was 30 (14.1%) Conclusion: The prevalence of thyroid dysfunction in gestational diabetes was 14.08%, therefore screening should be offered to high risk pregnant women.