EXPLORING THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THYROID STIMULATING HORMONE (TSH) AND FERRITIN IN THE THIRD TRIMESTER: IMPLICATIONS FOR FETAL OUTCOMES

In simple terms

This study looked at whether moms with higher TSH levels also had lower iron, and found a tiny link — but it didn’t change anything or assign who had what. So we can’t say iron causes TSH to rise or vice versa — just that they sometimes happen together.

31%

Analysis score

31/ 44

Maximum 44 for a cross-sectional study.

Where the score came from

Reporting0

Methodology15

Publication100

Statistical23

Study type (basis of the score)

Cross-Sectional Study

Level 4 - Case series

What’s the bottom line?

When a pregnant woman has low iron, her TSH hormone (which tells the thyroid to work) tends to go up, even if her thyroid is fine.

Where does this study sit?

Reviews of RCTs (Meta-analyses)

Max 100

Randomized Trials

Max 90

Reviews of Cohort Studies

Max 85

Cohort Studies

Max 72

Reviews of Case-Control Studies

Max 63

Case-Control Studies

Max 58

Cross-Sectional & Case Series

Max 50

Expert Opinion

Max 5

StrongerWeaker

Cross-Sectional & Case Series

Level 4

31 / 100

Quality score

Snapshots of a population at a single point in time, or descriptions of small groups. Can identify correlations and prevalence, but cannot determine cause and effect.

Cannot establish causation

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Key takeaways

Summary

Based on the study abstract and findings.

1The link between iron and TSH is small but statistically noticeable — it doesn't prove low iron causes thyroid problems, but it suggests they often happen together.
2Lower iron (ferritin) was linked to higher TSH (p < 0.05).
320.6% of babies were born early; 47.7% went to NICU.

Score breakdown, methodology, conflicts of interest, evidence analysis & raw study data