Intelligence Quotient, Anxiety, and Depression in Congenital Hypothyroid Children at School Age

Many studies who evaluated the outcome of the congenital hypothyroidism (CH) screening reported some intellectual and behavioral deficit despite early diagnose and treatment. The aim of the present study was to compare the intellectual and behavioral adjustment of CH children with controls.

This study was conducted among a group of 135 children aged 8‑‑12 years in Isfahan, including transient and permanent congenital hypothyroidism (TCH and PCH) and a matched group of their classmate. Demographic characteristics collected using a designed data collecting form completed by parents. Intellectual quotient (IQ) was evaluated using Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children aged 6‑‑16 years (WISC‑III). Depression and anxiety were evaluated using The Children’s Depression Inventory (CDI) and the Multidimensional Anxiety Scale for Children (MASC), respectively. The SPSS software version 20.0 was used for data analysis. Nonparametric tests (Mann‑‑Whitney) were used to investigate the association between variables. A significant level of less than 0.05 was considered in all analyzes.

There was no significant difference in the IQ scores between PCH and TCH groups (P = NS). However, neither of them had intellectual disability (defined as IQ <70). IQ scores were significantly lower in PCH comparing to controls (P < 0.001). Total IQ and verbal IQ were significantly differenct between TCH and control group (P = 0.007 and P = 0.001). No significant difference was found in anxiety and depression scores between CH children and controls.

There is no significant difference in anxiety and depression scores between congenital hypothyroidism children and controls, although IQ scores in children with congenital hypothyroidism is lower than controls.