The Reference Value Of Thyroid Stimulating Hormone For Children Under Age Of Five Years In Nineveh Province, Iraq

Background: Reference ranges of thyroid-stimulating hormones are needed for diagnosing and monitoring children's thyroid disorders based on age and sex.Aims: The main objective of this study is to establish thyroid-stimulating hormone reference ranges for healthy children below five years old in Nineveh province, Iraq, based on age and sex.Methods:A cross-sectional study was conducted on one hundred sixty-six healthy children (84 males, 82 females, aged from 2 days to 5 years), and their blood samples were collected at Ibn Al-Atheer and AL-Khansaa Teaching Hospital at Nineveh, Iraq, from October 2023 - March 2024. They were divided into three groups: G1=01 months, G2= 112 months, and G3=15 years. Serum TSH was measured using the enzyme-linked fluorescent assay method (ELFA) by Biomerieux Mini Vidas.Result: Because of the non-normally distributed data of TSH, reference values were determined using the 2.5% and 97.5 % percentiles. Highly significant difference (p<0.02) among mean TSH(IU/ml) of G 1(5.577.86), G 2 (2.671.80) and G 3 (2.641.72) for males and highly significant difference (p<0.001) among mean TSH G 1(6.015.94), G 2 (2.181.82) and G 3 (2.911.71)for females.Conclusions: Higher TSH values are encountered in the G1 with no sex difference of mean TSH, yet the 2.5th%-97.5th% percentile for males is evidently higher than that of females of similar age groups.