Assessment of thyroid hormone changes in women with preeclampsia

This study aimed at assessing changes in thyroid hormones in women with preeclampsia. Thirty-nine patients, 17 with mild preeclampsia and 22 with servere preeclampsia were compared with 42 healthy pregnant women with a gestational age over 20 weeks, regarding free T4, free T3, T3 resin uptake, T4, T3, TSH, free T3 index (FT3I), free T4 index (FT4I), and thyroid binding globulin. Mild preeclampsia was associated with higher serum TSH and lower T4, FT3I and FT4I (P<0.002). In patients with severe preeclampsia FT4 and TSH were higher than healthy pregnant women (P<0.04). It seems that thyroid dysfunction, in mild preeclampsia, is in the form of decreased thyroid hormones and increased TSH, and as toxemia progresses, free thyroid hormones increase significantly. To interpret these findings, the role of systemic illnesses, increased hCG, acute hepatic failure, previous thyroid dysfunction, and other factors must be considered. To establish a causal relationship between these changes in preeclampsia, more extensive research is necessary.