Association between Thyroid Function and Respiratory Distress Syndrome in Preterm Infants

Thyroid hormones are known to influence the production and secretion of pulmonary surfactant. The objective of this study was to explore the relationship between respiratory distress syndrome (RDS) and thyroid hormones. This was a retrospective study of preterm infants at 24-33 weeks gestational age from April 2017 to February 2019. T-3, free T-4 (fT(4)), and thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) were measured 1, 3, and 6 weeks after birth. Multivariate logistic regression analyses were performed to determine the relationship between RDS and TSH. A total of 146 infants were enrolled. Of these, 60 had RDS, 72 had no RDS, and 14 were excluded. T-3 and TSH were lower in the RDS groups (p < 0.05) on the day of birth. Multivariate logistic regression analysis indicated that lower serum TSH levels immediately after birth were associated with a higher incidence of RDS (OR, 0.89; 95% CI, 0.81-0.97). The TSH level was associated with the incidence of RDS. This suggests that suppression of the hypothalamus-pituitary axis function contributes to RDS, which is the result of surfactant deficiency.