Comparison of mental development between healthy children and those with hypothyroidism in, South Khorasan, Iran-2020

Congenital hypothyroidism is the most common and preventable cause of mental retardation in children. This study aimed to investigate mental development in healthy children and children with hypothyroidism treated in South Khorasan in 2020.

This cross-sectional study was performed on 64 children aged five to seven years in South Khorasan, divided into two groups (n=32): the control group and the group with congenital hypothyroidism. Data were collected using checklist demographic data, including gender, age, treatment, socioeconomic status, place of residence, and parents’ level of education, as well as children’s intellectual quotient (IQ) based on the Raven’s Progressive Matrices test of intelligence. Data were analyzed using the SPSS software (version 24) at a significant level of less than 0.05

The mean age of children was 6.22±0.79 years, and there was no significant difference between the two groups concerning their age (P=0.78). The results also showed no significant difference between the groups for their gender (P>0.05). The average IQ score was 125.50±8.00 in the population with hypothyroidism and 127.14±5.41 in healthy children; however, the difference was not statistically significant (P=0.50). Additionally, there was no significant relationship between the IQ scores and case groups (P=0.40). Finally, the comparison of IQ classes was not significant between the two groups regarding their age (P>0.05) and gender (P> 0.05).

The results of the present study showed that the screening program for congenital hypothyroidism can positively affect children’s mental development or IQ.