Thyroid and other endocrine disorders in pregnancy

Abstract 

Endocrine disorders are increasingly encountered in pregnancy. To optimize pregnancy outcome, it is essential to understand the physiology underlying these conditions, as well as which investigations and treatments are safe to use. Thyroid disease is the second most common endocrine condition encountered in women of childbearing age after diabetes. Other endocrine disorders, such as pituitary dysfunction and adrenal and parathyroid disease, are less frequently encountered in pregnancy due to lower population prevalence in combination in some cases with associated subfertility. Women whose pregnancies are complicated by endocrine disease are at risk of maternal and foetal complications, but these can be minimized with appropriate multidisciplinary management.

Keywords: Addison’s disease, congenital adrenal hyperplasia, Conn’s syndrome, diabetes insipidus, hypopituitarism, parathyroid, phaeochromocytoma, pituitary adenoma, thyroid disease, vitamin D