Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Thyroid and Infertility

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Thyroid Diseases in Pregnancy

  • 403 Accesses

Abstract

Thyroid dysfunction and/or autoimmunity are quite common in women of reproductive age and thyroxine is essential in early pregnancy and crucial for fetal brain development and growth. Thyroid disease, including hypothyroidism and hyperthyroidism (both subclinical and overt), and/or thyroid autoimmunity have been linked to adverse reproductive outcomes. The following chapter describes the magnitude of the problem, attempts to reveal pathophysiological mechanisms, and provides options for the management of the infertile couple with thyroid diseases.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
eBook
USD 16.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 119.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 169.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

References

  1. World Health Organization (WHO). International classification of diseases, 11th revision (ICD-11) Geneva: WHO; 2018.

    Google Scholar 

  2. Inhorn MC, Patrizio P. Infertility around the globe: new thinking on gender, reproductive technologies and global movements in the 21st century. Hum Reprod Update. 2015;21(4):411–26.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  3. Mintziori G, Goulis DG. In vitro fertilization/intracytoplasmic insemination and thyroid function: reviewing the evidence. Metabolism. 2018;86:44–8.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  4. Aghajanova L, Stavreus-Evers A, Lindeberg M, Landgren BM, Sparre LS, Hovatta O. Thyroid-stimulating hormone receptor and thyroid hormone receptors are involved in human endometrial physiology. Fertil Steril. 2011;95:230–7.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  5. Colicchia M, Campagnolo L, Baldini E, Ulisse S, Valensise H, Moretti C. Molecular basis of thyrotropin and thyroid hormone action during implantation and early development. Hum Reprod Update. 2014;20(6):884–904.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  6. Wakim AN, Polizotto SL, Buffo MJ, Marrero MA, Burholt DR. Thyroid hormones in human follicular fluid and thyroid hormone receptors in human granulosa cells. Fertil Steril. 1993;59:1187–90.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  7. Dittrich R, Beckmann MW, Oppelt PG, Hoffmann I, Lotz L, Kuwert T, Mueller A. Thyroid hormone receptors and reproduction. J Reprod Immunol. 2011;90(1):58–66.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  8. Dhillon-Smith RK, Tobias A, Smith PP, Middleton LJ, Sunner KK, Baker K, Farrell-Carver S, Bender-Atik R, Agrawal R, Bhatia K, Chu JJ, Edi-Osagie E, Ewies A, Ghobara T, Gupta P, Jurkovic D, Khalaf Y, Mulbagal K, Nunes N, Overton C, Quenby S, Rai R, Raine-Fenning N, Robinson L, Ross J, Sizer A, Small R, Underwood M, Kilby MD, Daniels J, Thangaratinam S, Chan S, Boelaert K, Coomarasamy A. The prevalence of thyroid dysfunction and autoimmunity in women with history of miscarriage or subfertility. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2020;105(8):dgaa302.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  9. Rao M, Wang H, Zhao S, Liu J, Wen Y, Wu Z, Yang Z, Su C, Su Z, Wang K, Tang L. Subclinical hypothyroidism is associated with lower ovarian reserve in women aged 35 years or older. Thyroid. 2020;30(1):95–105. https://doi.org/10.1089/thy.2019.0031.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  10. Akhtar MA, Agrawal R, Brown J, Sajjad Y, Craciunas L. Thyroxine replacement for subfertile women with euthyroid autoimmune thyroid disease or subclinical hypothyroidism. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2019;6(6):CD011009.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  11. Rao M, Zeng Z, Zhao S, Tang L. Effect of levothyroxine supplementation on pregnancy outcomes in women with subclinical hypothyroidism and thyroid autoimmunity undergoing in vitro fertilization/intracytoplasmic sperm injection: an updated meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. Reprod Biol Endocrinol. 2018;16(1):92.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  12. Poppe K, Bisschop P, Fugazzola L, Minziori G, Unuane D, Weghofer A. 2021 European thyroid association guideline on thyroid disorders prior to and during assisted reproduction. Eur Thyroid J. 2020;9:281–95.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  13. Sahoo DK, Roy A, Bhanja S, Chainy GB. Hypothyroidism impairs antioxidant defence system and testicular physiology during development and maturation. Gen Comp Endocrinol. 2008;156(1):63–70.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  14. Nascimento Gomes S, do Carmo Corrêa DE, de Oliveira IM, Bargi-Souza P, Degraf Cavallin M, Dobner Mariano D, Maissar Khalil N, Alves Figueiredo DL, Romano MA, de Oliveira CA, Marino Romano R. Imbalanced testicular metabolism induced by thyroid disorders: new evidences from quantitative proteome. Endocrine. 2020;67(1):209–23.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  15. Romano RM, Gomes SN, Cardoso NC, Schiessl L, Romano MA, Oliveira CA. New insights for male infertility revealed by alterations in spermatic function and differential testicular expression of thyroid-related genes. Endocrine. 2017;55(2):607–17. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12020-016-0952-3.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  16. Corona G, Jannini EA, Vignozzi L, Rastrelli G, Maggi M. The hormonal control of ejaculation. Nat Rev Urol. 2012;9(9):508–19. https://doi.org/10.1038/nrurol.2012.147.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  17. Rao M, Yang Z, Su C, Zhao Z, Wan R, Liu J, Yao Y, Su Z, Wang K, Tang L, Zhao S. Paternal subclinical hypothyroidism affects the clinical outcomes of in vitro fertilization/intracytoplasmic sperm injection. Thyroid. 2021;31(1):12–22. https://doi.org/10.1089/thy.2020.0154.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  18. Poppe K, Glinoer D, Van Steirteghem A, Tournaye H, Devroey P, Schiettecatte J, Velkeniers B. Thyroid dysfunction and autoimmunity in infertile women. Thyroid. 2002;12(11):997–1001.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  19. Joshi JV, Bhandarkar SD, Chadha M, Balaiah D, Shah R. Menstrual irregularities and lactation failure may precede thyroid dysfunction or goitre. J Postgrad Med. 1993;39(3):137–41.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  20. Mintziori G, Goulis DG, Kolibianakis EM. Thyroid function and IVF outcome: when to investigate and when to intervene? Curr Opin Obstet Gynecol. 2016;28(3):191–7.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  21. Busnelli A, Paffoni A, Fedele L, Somigliana E. The impact of thyroid autoimmunity on IVF/ICSI outcome: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Hum Reprod Update. 2016;22(6):775–90. https://doi.org/10.1093/humupd/dmw019. Epub 2016 Jun 20. Erratum in: Hum Reprod Update 2016 Nov;22(6):793–794.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  22. Hsieh YT, Ho JYP. Thyroid autoimmunity is associated with higher risk of premature ovarian insufficiency—a nationwide health insurance research database study. Hum Reprod. 2021;36(6):1621–9.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  23. Mintziori G, Goulis DG. Endocrine causes of recurrent implantation failure. In: Recurrent implantation failure, 1st edn. Imprint CRC Press; 2019. eBook ISBN 9781315165707.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Medical School, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, Greece

    Gesthimani Mintziori

Authors
  1. Gesthimani Mintziori
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Endocrine Research Center, Research Institute for Endocrine Sciences, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran

    Fereidoun Azizi

  2. Reproductive Endocrinology Research Center, Research Institute for Endocrine Sciences, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran

    Fahimeh Ramezani Tehrani

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2022 Springer Nature Switzerland AG

About this chapter

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this chapter

Mintziori, G. (2022). Thyroid and Infertility. In: Azizi, F., Ramezani Tehrani, F. (eds) Thyroid Diseases in Pregnancy. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-98777-0_16

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-98777-0_16

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-030-98776-3

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-030-98777-0

  • eBook Packages: MedicineMedicine (R0)

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation