Developmental Defects of the Thyroid Gland: Relationship with Advanced Maternal Age

OBJECTIVE Developmental defects of the thyroid gland are the most frequent causes of permanent congenital hypothyroidism. This study aimed to investigate the epidemiological features of patients with thyroid dysgenesis (TD). METHODS Medical records of 234 patients with TD followed between the years 2008 and 2010 were evaluated retrospectively. Diagnosis was made by ultrasonography. RESULTS Of 234 patients, 120 (51.3%) were male and 114 (48.7%) were female. Male to female ratio was 1.08 and there were no significant differences in epidemiologic and clinical findings between girls and boys. One hundred eighty-three patients (78.2%) were diagnosed as hypoplasia, 35 (14.9%) as thyroid agenesis, 4 as ectopic thyroid gland and 12 as hemiagenesis. The mean maternal age of the group was 28.9 ± 0.4 years (range 18 to 45 years), which is significantly higher than the recently reported mean maternal ages for Turkish women. CONCLUSIONS Advanced maternal age was more prevalent in patients with TD. Our clinical and epidemiologic findings suggested no evidence of sexual dimorphism.