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Observational studies have suggested an association between maternal hypothyroidism during pregnancy and impaired cognitive function in offspring. In a European study, investigators collected serum from more than 20,000 women during the first trimester and then randomized the women to immediate or delayed (after delivery) measurement of thyroid hormone levels. Women in the immediate-screening group with positive screens (high thyrotropin level, low free thyroxine level, or both) began treatment with levothyroxine. IQ was evaluated in children at age 3 years.
About 5% of women in both groups tested positive. Women with positive screens in the immediate-screening group began treatment at an average of 13 weeks' gestation. Despite appropriate c…