Low thyroid hormone in pregnancy raises the risk of schizophrenia in babies, new research

Schizophrenia is a mental health condition caused by a combination of environmental and genetic factors. Its symptoms are usually psychological, and include hallucinations, delusions, and muddled thinking. This is why schizophrenia is normally referred to as a psychotic illness.

In the first few months of pregnancy, a developing baby derives its thyroid hormone needs from the mother. Therefore, a low thyroid hormone level in a pregnant woman – a common condition called hypothyroxinemia, puts her baby at risk for mental health disorders, in addition to risks of  miscarriage, premature delivery, or even a still birth.

Is my thyroid hormone level low?

This can be determined by a thyroid function test in the early weeks of your pregnancy. Also, there are some symptoms which have been reported, which include extreme fatigue, cold intolerance, muscle cramps, constipation and memory problems.

Research findings 

A new study published in Biological Psychiatry has seen links between hypothyroxinemia, and schizophrenia. Hypothyroxinemia is associated with abnormalities in mental development similar to those seen in schizophrenia, and is also associated with preterm delivery, a risk factor for schizophrenia.

To determine the link between schizophrenia and hypothyroxinemia, a study was conducted on 1010 mothers of children with schizophrenia and 1010 matched control mothers. Their serum samples were collected in the first and early second trimesters of their pregnancy. It was found that 11.8% of people with schizophrenia had a mother with hypothyroxinemia, compared with 8.6% of people without schizophrenia.

This suggests that children of mothers with hypothyroxinemia during pregnancy have a higher chance of developing schizophrenia. Despite the fact that other variables which can cause schizophrenia such as such as maternal psychiatric history and smoking, were adjusted during the study, the link was still there.

The reason for this link was not addressed by the study, but they did find that adjusting for preterm birth lessened the association between hypothyroxinemia and schizophrenia, suggesting that preterm birth may mediate some of the increased risk.

What does this mean for the future?

Dr. John Krystal, Editor of Biological Psychiatry, believes that there’s a potential that the risk of mothers who have low thyroid hormones in pregnancy having kids with schizophrenia can be greatly reduced.

“Maternal hypothyroidism can be easily diagnosed and effectively treated,” he said.

Source: Science Daily