Subclinical hypothyroidism in pregnant women in the iodine deficiency region: to treat or not to treat?

Thyroid diseases occupy the top places in the structure of the endocrine pathology in recent years. According to the Ministry of Health of Ukraine, over the past 5 years the number of thyroid diseases has increased 5 times, and this indicator differs significantly in different regions of the country depending on a combination of environmental factors (remote stochastic effect of the Chernobyl accident, iodine deficiency, lifestyle, stress, malnutrition, micronutrient deficiencies, comorbidities, etc.). There is a close functional relationship between the thyroid and reproductive systems, which leads to a high probability of the development of combined disorders in one of these links of homeostasis. The problem of reproductive health disorders is of particular concern around the world and is relevant to the study of the nature of the effects of thyroid diseases on pregnancy. The prevalence and incidence of the thyroid disease vary in different regions of the country depending on the influence of environmental factors and their combination, one of which is iodine deficiency. The increasing number of stillborn infants, premature termination of pregnancy, infertility, deafness and strabismus of newborns, delayed physical, sexual and intellectual development of children, increa­sing cardiovascular diseases — this is not a complete list of negative effects of iodine deficiency on humans. The most common consequence of the iodine deficiency in pregnant women is subclinical hypothyroidism. Subclinical hypothyroidism is associated with many adverse events during pregnancy and with neonatal outcomes. The study of the peculiarities of the course of subclinical hypothyroidism in pregnant women in the iodine deficiency region today remains an urgent problem. This article presents an analysis of the publications of PubMed and Medline databases for the last decades.