ESPE Abstracts

Background: Congenital hypothyroidism (CH) is the one of the most common preventable cause of mental retardation. Earlier and proper treatment is associated with better intellectual outcomes.

Objective and hypotheses: The aim of the present study was to evaluate intellectual outcome of children with diagnosed congenital hypothyroidism (CH) and early onset treatment.

Method: We retrospectively reviewed the medical record of 43 children of diagnosed CH. Children aged between 5 and 7 years were examined with the Korean Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children or the Korean Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence.

Results: Of the 43 children included in this study, 22 (51.2%) were female and 21 (48.8%) were male with a female:male ratio of 1.047:1. Treatment with levothyroxine was started after mean of 27 days (range 13–60 days). K-WISC-III for intellectual outcome was performed at mean age of 5.9 years (range 5–7.6). Our patients achieved a mean IQ score of 103.13; mean verbal IQ was 99.02 and mean performance IQ was 104.81. None of them had intellectual disability (defined as an IQ <70). IQ scores of children with CH were not significantly associated with clinical variables, including gestational age, birth weight, pretreatment free T₄, TSH, age, and initial dose for levothyroxine.

Conclusion: Our study demonstrates that children with CH received proper treatment did not affect their IQ scores.