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Irish Wedding News

19/09/2014

Children's Maths Skills 'Linked To Mother's Thyroid Levels'

A new study has claimed that children whose mothers had a low thyroid level during pregnancy, are more likely to have poorer maths skills in their early years.

The research, which was led by VU University Medical Centre in Amsterdam, looked at 1,196 healthy children from their birth to the age of five. The mothers' thyroxine levels were recorded at 12 weeks of pregnancy.

Experts then looked at the child's test scores for language and arithmetic and it was discovered that children born women with low levels of thyroxine, were twice as likely to have below-average arithmetic scores.

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Interestingly, however, the language results for the infants showed no change, and when the child's family background was also taken into account, the results remained unchanged.

It has previously been said that low levels of thyroxine in pregnant women can be linked to poor mental development in infancy, and could potentially lead to learning difficulties and reduced physical growth.

Dr Martijn Finken, VU University Medical Centre, who led the study, explained: "Whether these problems persist into adulthood remains to be seen. We will continue to follow these children to answer this next big question."

"It is possible that these children could benefit from hormonal supplements to boost their brain development in the womb," he suggested. "Such treatment has been tried in the past but as yet has failed to improve cognitive ability, although timing of the treatment could influence its success."

(JP/MH)

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"A new study has claimed that children whose mothers had a low thyroid level during pregnancy, are more likely to have poorer maths skills in their early years."