Skip to main content

Advertising Disclaimer »

Main menu

  • Journals
    • Pediatrics
    • Hospital Pediatrics
    • Pediatrics in Review
    • NeoReviews
    • AAP Grand Rounds
    • AAP News
  • Authors/Reviewers
    • Submit Manuscript
    • Author Guidelines
    • Reviewer Guidelines
    • Open Access
    • Editorial Policies
  • Content
    • Current Issue
    • Online First
    • Archive
    • Blogs
    • Topic/Program Collections
    • AAP Meeting Abstracts
  • Pediatric Collections
    • COVID-19
    • Racism and Its Effects on Pediatric Health
    • More Collections...
  • AAP Policy
  • Supplements
  • Multimedia
    • Video Abstracts
    • Pediatrics On Call Podcast
  • Subscribe
  • Alerts
  • Careers
  • Other Publications
    • American Academy of Pediatrics

User menu

  • Log in

Search

  • Advanced search
American Academy of Pediatrics

AAP Gateway

Advanced Search

AAP Logo

  • Log in
  • Journals
    • Pediatrics
    • Hospital Pediatrics
    • Pediatrics in Review
    • NeoReviews
    • AAP Grand Rounds
    • AAP News
  • Authors/Reviewers
    • Submit Manuscript
    • Author Guidelines
    • Reviewer Guidelines
    • Open Access
    • Editorial Policies
  • Content
    • Current Issue
    • Online First
    • Archive
    • Blogs
    • Topic/Program Collections
    • AAP Meeting Abstracts
  • Pediatric Collections
    • COVID-19
    • Racism and Its Effects on Pediatric Health
    • More Collections...
  • AAP Policy
  • Supplements
  • Multimedia
    • Video Abstracts
    • Pediatrics On Call Podcast
  • Subscribe
  • Alerts
  • Careers

Discover Pediatric Collections on COVID-19 and Racism and Its Effects on Pediatric Health

American Academy of Pediatrics
Article

Free Thyroxine Levels After Very Preterm Birth and Neurodevelopmental Outcomes at Age 7 Years

Shannon E. Scratch, Rodney W. Hunt, Deanne K. Thompson, Zohra M. Ahmadzai, Lex W. Doyle, Terrie E. Inder and Peter J. Anderson
Pediatrics April 2014, 133 (4) e955-e963; DOI: https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.2013-2425
Shannon E. Scratch
aClinical Sciences, Murdoch Childrens Research Institute, Royal Children's Hospital, Parkville, Victoria, Australia;
bFaculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences, The University of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia;
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Rodney W. Hunt
aClinical Sciences, Murdoch Childrens Research Institute, Royal Children's Hospital, Parkville, Victoria, Australia;
bFaculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences, The University of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia;
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Deanne K. Thompson
aClinical Sciences, Murdoch Childrens Research Institute, Royal Children's Hospital, Parkville, Victoria, Australia;
bFaculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences, The University of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia;
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Zohra M. Ahmadzai
aClinical Sciences, Murdoch Childrens Research Institute, Royal Children's Hospital, Parkville, Victoria, Australia;
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Lex W. Doyle
aClinical Sciences, Murdoch Childrens Research Institute, Royal Children's Hospital, Parkville, Victoria, Australia;
bFaculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences, The University of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia;
dThe Royal Women’s Hospital, Victoria, Australia
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Terrie E. Inder
aClinical Sciences, Murdoch Childrens Research Institute, Royal Children's Hospital, Parkville, Victoria, Australia;
cSchool of Medicine, Washington University of St. Louis, St. Louis, Missouri; and
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Peter J. Anderson
aClinical Sciences, Murdoch Childrens Research Institute, Royal Children's Hospital, Parkville, Victoria, Australia;
bFaculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences, The University of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia;
cSchool of Medicine, Washington University of St. Louis, St. Louis, Missouri; and
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
  • Article
  • Figures & Data
  • Info & Metrics
  • Comments
Loading

This article requires a subscription to view the full text. If you have a subscription you may use the login form below to view the article. Access to this article can also be purchased.

Download PDF

Abstract

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Preterm infants commonly have transient hypothyroxinemia of prematurity after birth, which has been associated with deficits in general intellectual functioning, memory, attention, and academic achievement. However, research has predominantly focused on thyroxine levels in the first 2 weeks of life and outcomes are limited to the preschool period. Our objective was to evaluate the relationships between free thyroxine (fT4) levels over the first 6 weeks after very preterm (VPT) birth with cognitive functioning and brain development at age 7 years.

METHODS: A total of 83 infants born VPT (<30 weeks’ gestation) had fT4 concentrations measured postnatally and 2- and 6-week area under the curve (AUC) summary measures were calculated. Follow-up at age 7 years included a neuropsychological assessment and brain MRI. Univariable and multivariable regression modeling was used where AUC for fT4 was the main predictor of neurodevelopmental outcome at age 7 years.

RESULTS: Multivariable modeling revealed that higher, not lower, postnatal fT4 levels (2-week AUC) were associated with poorer cognitive performances at age 7 years on tasks of verbal learning (P = .02), verbal memory (P = .03), and simple reaction time (P < .001). A similar pattern of results was found when the 6-week AUC was examined. No significant associations between postnatal fT4 levels and brain volumes at age 7 years were identified.

CONCLUSIONS: Results are contradictory to previous observations and suggest that after adjustment for confounders, higher postnatal fT4 levels in VPT infants, rather than lower levels, may be a marker of adverse neuropsychological development in childhood.

  • preterm infants
  • thyroxine
  • hormones
  • cognitive outcome
  • brain volumes
  • Accepted January 8, 2014.
  • Copyright © 2014 by the American Academy of Pediatrics

Individual Login

Log in
You will be redirected to aap.org to login or to create your account.

Institutional Login

via Institution

You may be able to gain access using your login credentials for your institution. Contact your librarian or administrator if you do not have a username and password.

Log in through your institution

If your organization uses OpenAthens, you can log in using your OpenAthens username and password. To check if your institution is supported, please see this list. Contact your library for more details.

Pay Per Article - You may access this article (from the computer you are currently using) for 2 days for US$25.00

Regain Access - You can regain access to a recent Pay per Article purchase if your access period has not yet expired.

Offer Reprints

PreviousNext
Back to top

Advertising Disclaimer »

In this issue

Pediatrics
Vol. 133, Issue 4
1 Apr 2014
  • Table of Contents
  • Index by author
View this article with LENS
PreviousNext
Email Article

Thank you for your interest in spreading the word on American Academy of Pediatrics.

NOTE: We only request your email address so that the person you are recommending the page to knows that you wanted them to see it, and that it is not junk mail. We do not capture any email address.

Enter multiple addresses on separate lines or separate them with commas.
Free Thyroxine Levels After Very Preterm Birth and Neurodevelopmental Outcomes at Age 7 Years
(Your Name) has sent you a message from American Academy of Pediatrics
(Your Name) thought you would like to see the American Academy of Pediatrics web site.
CAPTCHA
This question is for testing whether or not you are a human visitor and to prevent automated spam submissions.
Request Permissions
Article Alerts
Log in
You will be redirected to aap.org to login or to create your account.
Or Sign In to Email Alerts with your Email Address
Citation Tools
Free Thyroxine Levels After Very Preterm Birth and Neurodevelopmental Outcomes at Age 7 Years
Shannon E. Scratch, Rodney W. Hunt, Deanne K. Thompson, Zohra M. Ahmadzai, Lex W. Doyle, Terrie E. Inder, Peter J. Anderson
Pediatrics Apr 2014, 133 (4) e955-e963; DOI: 10.1542/peds.2013-2425

Citation Manager Formats

  • BibTeX
  • Bookends
  • EasyBib
  • EndNote (tagged)
  • EndNote 8 (xml)
  • Medlars
  • Mendeley
  • Papers
  • RefWorks Tagged
  • Ref Manager
  • RIS
  • Zotero
Share
Free Thyroxine Levels After Very Preterm Birth and Neurodevelopmental Outcomes at Age 7 Years
Shannon E. Scratch, Rodney W. Hunt, Deanne K. Thompson, Zohra M. Ahmadzai, Lex W. Doyle, Terrie E. Inder, Peter J. Anderson
Pediatrics Apr 2014, 133 (4) e955-e963; DOI: 10.1542/peds.2013-2425
del.icio.us logo Digg logo Reddit logo Twitter logo CiteULike logo Facebook logo Google logo Mendeley logo
Print
Download PDF
Insight Alerts
  • Table of Contents

Jump to section

  • Article
    • Abstract
    • METHOD
    • Results
    • Discussion
    • Conclusions
    • Footnotes
    • References
  • Figures & Data
  • Info & Metrics
  • Comments

Related Articles

  • No related articles found.
  • PubMed
  • Google Scholar

Cited By...

  • No citing articles found.
  • Google Scholar

More in this TOC Section

  • Predictive Models of Neurodevelopmental Outcomes After Neonatal Hypoxic-Ischemic Encephalopathy
  • A Technology-Assisted Language Intervention for Children Who Are Deaf or Hard of Hearing: A Randomized Clinical Trial
  • Standard Versus Long Peripheral Catheters for Multiday IV Therapy: A Randomized Controlled Trial
Show more Article

Similar Articles

Subjects

  • Fetus/Newborn Infant
    • Fetus/Newborn Infant
    • Neonatology
  • Developmental/Behavioral Pediatrics
    • Developmental/Behavioral Pediatrics
    • Growth/Development Milestones

Keywords

  • preterm infants
  • thyroxine
  • hormones
  • cognitive outcome
  • brain volumes
  • Journal Info
  • Editorial Board
  • Editorial Policies
  • Overview
  • Licensing Information
  • Authors/Reviewers
  • Author Guidelines
  • Submit My Manuscript
  • Open Access
  • Reviewer Guidelines
  • Librarians
  • Institutional Subscriptions
  • Usage Stats
  • Support
  • Contact Us
  • Subscribe
  • Resources
  • Media Kit
  • About
  • International Access
  • Terms of Use
  • Privacy Statement
  • FAQ
  • AAP.org
  • shopAAP
  • Follow American Academy of Pediatrics on Instagram
  • Visit American Academy of Pediatrics on Facebook
  • Follow American Academy of Pediatrics on Twitter
  • Follow American Academy of Pediatrics on Youtube
  • RSS
American Academy of Pediatrics

© 2021 American Academy of Pediatrics