No significant relationship between effect of maternal diet quality indices on neonatal thyroid function: Study
Thyroid hormones regulate the growth of fetal and
differentiation of several tissues, such as brain, adipose tissue, and bone.
The physiology of thyroid significantly changes during pregnancy and provides
adequate hormones for the mother and fetus. During early pregnancy, the growth
and development of fetus depend on the maternal thyroxine because the fetal
thyroid gland is entirely mature after 20 weeks of gestation. Several factors
including maternal thyroid diseases, some drugs, type of delivery, dietary
pattern, and birth conditions are associated with changes in the neonatal
thyroidstimulating hormone (TSH) concentration.
Diet is one of the lifestyle factors that influence the risk
of thyroid disorders. The neonatal thyroid is very sensitive to variations in
maternal dietary intake. Neonatal TSH levels could show the intake of some
nutrients including iodine during pregnancy. A healthy diet includes fruits,
vegetables, nuts, and fish and contains useful micronutrients that are important
for thyroid function. These findings showed the importance of maternal diet
during pregnancy on neonatal TSH levels. Proper nutrition and healthy dietary
pattern may improve maternal thyroid function.
The thyroid health of neonates has a significant effect on
brain development. Maternal and infant factors affect infant TSH and thyroid
hormone levels. However, conflicting findings have been reported. Authors
hypothesized that since maternal nutrition affects birth weight and offspring
growth, it may also impact endocrine patterns in offspring. There is some
evidence related to single nutrients and thyroid function. However, there is
few evidence related to specific dietary patterns and thyroid function. In
fact, no studies have yet assessed the possible impact of maternal DPI on
neonatal thyroid function. Thus, this study aimed at investigating the
association between maternal DPI on neonatal cord blood thyroid hormone levels.
This cross-sectional study is a substudy of a birth cohort.
Overall, 216 mothers, aged 16–45 years, were recruited in their first trimester
of pregnancy. To calculate DPI, the daily energy percentage of
phytochemical-rich foods was divided by the total daily energy intake. At delivery
time, TSH and free thyroxine (FT4) levels were measured in cord blood samples
using chemiluminescence immunoassay. Results: The mean (standard deviation
(SD)) age of mothers was 29.56 (5.50) years, and 47% of newborns were girls.
The mean (SD) of DPI in the first, second, third, and fourth quartiles was 25
03 ± 4 67, 33 87 ± 2 18, 40 64 ± 2 10, and 51 17 ± 4 98, respectively. There
was not any significant correlation between DPI score with cord serum TSH and
FT4 levels in crude and adjusted analysis.
In the present study, the DPI score was not associated with
neonatal TSH and FT4 levels. So, no significant association between neonatal
thyroid function and maternal diet quality index was shown in the present
study. In previous studies, no association was observed between diet and weight
gain during pregnancy with cord blood TSH levels.
The present study reports no significant relationship
between maternal DPI with neonatal TSH and FT4 levels. The amount of foods rich
in phytochemical compound consumption can be important, and their beneficial
effects may be shown with high consumption. There is little information about
the impact of maternal DPI on fetal and neonatal thyroid function. It
highlights the need for further studies to investigate the impacts of maternal
quality of diet on neonatal thyroid dysfunction.
Source: Vida Hashemi Dehkordi, Mehri Khoshhali, Motahar
Heidari-Beni; Wiley Journal of Pregnancy Volume 2024, Article ID 9558023, 6
pages
https://doi.org/10.1155/2024/9558023
