Thyroid abnormalities in children with Down syndrome at St. Paul's hospital millennium medical college, Ethiopia.

BACKGROUND: Subclinical hypothyroidism (SCH) is the commonest thyroid abnormality in patients with Down syndrome (DS). The purpose of this study was to determine the prevalence and types of thyroid abnormalities, to assess the age at diagnosis, and to examine the screening practice in children with DS in a resource limited setting.

METHODOLOGY: A retrospective study was conducted in children with DS seen at endocrine follow-up clinic. Data were collected from patients' registration book and medical records.

RESULT: A total of 115 patients with DS were included in the study out of which 64 (59.8%) were males. Their median age at diagnosis was 9 months (range 4-15 years). Thyroid function test (TFT) was done at least once for 107 (93%) patients. Abnormal thyroid function was observed in 51 (47.7%) patients. The commonest thyroid abnormality was SCH (30/107, 28%) followed by congenital hypothyroidism (11/107, 10.3%), overt hypothyroidism (9/107, 8.4%) and hyperthyroidism (1/107, 0.9%). Most of the patients (86/107, 80.4%) were tested initially in the first 2 years of life. From those who were tested between the age of 2-6 months (n = 22 patients), seven (31.8%) patients had thyroid abnormalities.

CONCLUSION: Thyroid abnormalities were seen in a remarkable proportion of DS patients. The detection of abnormalities in the patients with age range of 2-6 months demands the need for additional TFT in this age category apart from the standard recommendation. Early diagnosis and management of thyroid abnormalities are important to decrease further impairment of cognition function in children with DS.