Maternal Thyroid Function during the Second Half of Pregnancy and Child Neurodevelopment at 6, 12, 24, and 60 Months of Age

Table 5

Associations between maternal thyroid hormone levels during pregnancy (27 weeks’ gestation) and child neurodevelopment at 5 years of age.¹

	Free T4		Total T4		TSH^2
	β	(95% CI)	β	(95% CI)	β	(95% CI)
Performance IQ
WPPSI^3	−4.12	(−13.73, 5.49)	0.03	(−1.35, 1.41)	−2.26	(−5.27, 0.74)
Motor Development
WRAVMA^4
Pegboard-Dominant	−3.76	(−15.45, 7.93)	−0.97	(−2.64, 0.70)	0.51	(−3.12, 4.15)
Pegboard-Nondominant	−4.21	(−16.03, 7.61)	−1.55	(−3.23, 0.13)	0.02	(−3.65, 3.68)
McCarthy
Draw-a-Child	−5.98	(−16.74, 4.77)	0.10	(−1.44, 1.63)	0.06	(−3.27, 3.39)
Gross Motor-Leg	−0.14	(−1.60, 1.32)	0.00	(−0.22, 0.22)	0.16	(−0.31, 0.63)
Gross Motor-Arm	0.08	(−1.51, 1.66)	−0.04	(−0.27, 0.19)	0.04	(−0.45, 0.53)
Language Development
WPPSI^3 Vocabulary	−0.21	(−1.98, 1.57)	−0.22	(−0.47, 0.03)	−0.37	(−0.92, 0.19)
PPVT^5	−2.71	(−14.18, 8.77)	−0.89	(−2.54, 0.76)	−1.05	(−4.66, 2.57)
Memory
McCarthy
Words and Sentences	0.10	(−11.32, 11.52)	−0.55	(−2.17, 1.07)	−1.44	(−4.97, 2.09)
Digit Span Forward	4.06	(−4.72, 12.83)	0.77	(−0.46, 2.00)	−1.83	(−4.51, 0.86)
Digit Span Backward	4.43	(−2.55, 11.42)	−0.10	(−1.13, 0.94)	−0.38	(−2.63, 1.87)
School Readiness
Woodcock-Johnson/Muñoz
Letter-Word	−1.86	(−9.33, 5.60)	0.21	(−0.88, 1.31)	1.43	(−0.94, 3.80)
Applied Problems	−3.82	(−14.06, 6.42)	−0.51	(−2.01, 1.00)	−1.48	(−4.74, 1.78)
Attention
CBCL^6
ADHD^7	−0.10	(−2.03, 1.82)	0.00	(−0.28, 0.27)	−0.65	(−1.26, −0.04)*
KCPT^8
ADHD^7 Confidence Index	7.52	(−4.86, 19.91)	0.09	(−1.70, 1.87)	−0.75	(−4.61, 3.12)

^∗𝑃<0.05.
¹Models adjusted for maternal age, income, employment status at 6 months, country of birth, Diet Quality Index, delivery complications, PPVT score; child 5-minute APGAR, hospitalization at 1 year; number of children in home at 1 and 2 years, home density at 2 years, family structure at 1 year; season of assessment.
²Since TSH was expressed on a log₂ basis, β are equal to the change in neurodevelopmental outcomes for a doubling in TSH levels.
³Weschler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence.
⁴Wide Range Assessment of Visual Motor Ability.
⁵Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test.
⁶Child Behavior Checklist.
⁷Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder.
⁸Kiddie Continuous Performance Test.