Thyroid autoimmunity and the risk of miscarriage

Approximately one-third of all pregnancies end in miscarriage. The etiology of recurrent abortion remains unknown in approximately 50% of all women. In the early 1990s it was discovered that unselected euthyroid women who present with thyroid antibodies (thyroid peroxidase and thyroglobulin) in the...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Baillière's best practice & research. Clinical endocrinology & metabolism 2004-06, Vol.18 (2), p.167-181
Main Authors: Stagnaro-Green, Alex, Glinoer, Daniel
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Abortion, Spontaneous - epidemiology
Abortion, Spontaneous - immunology
antibodies
Autoantibodies - immunology
Female
Humans
miscarriage
Pregnancy
Risk Factors
thyroid
Thyroiditis, Autoimmune - epidemiology
Thyroiditis, Autoimmune - immunology
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Summary:Approximately one-third of all pregnancies end in miscarriage. The etiology of recurrent abortion remains unknown in approximately 50% of all women. In the early 1990s it was discovered that unselected euthyroid women who present with thyroid antibodies (thyroid peroxidase and thyroglobulin) in the first trimester of pregnancy have a two–four-fold increase in their miscarriage rates. The majority of studies investigating women with recurrent abortion have also found a significant increase in thyroid antibody positivity compared with controls. Although the etiology of miscarriage in thyroid antibody women remains unknown, recent data have revealed a potential direct effect of thyroglobulin antibodies on pregnancy loss in a murine model. Uncontrolled studies assessing the effect of levothyroxine on decreasing the miscarriage rate in euthyroid antibody positive women, have demonstrated a decreased miscarriage rate.
ISSN:1521-690X
1878-1594
DOI:10.1016/j.beem.2004.03.007