Video Interview

Hypothyroidism in pregnancy: Focus on the patient

Angela M. Leung, USA

21 April 2026

Click to Watch the Video Interview

Overview

As soon as pregnancy is confirmed, most women with pre-existing treated hypothyroidism require an increase in levothyroxine dose of 30–50% to remain euthyroid during gestation [Li, 2020] but their TSH levels should be closely monitored to avoid over- or under-treatment [Pearce, 2022]. Current recommendations for women who are not being treated for hypothyroidism pre-conception, do not support universal screening of low-risk women for thyroid disorders during pregnancy [Sullivan, 2019]. Rather, 2017 guidelines advocate a targeted approach, whereby those with certain characteristics are identified as being at particular risk of developing hypothyroidism during pregnancy, and are preferentially screened and monitored [Alexander, 2017].  These criteria have been investigated and some have been found to have poor predictive ability for detecting thyroid function test abnormalities [Osinga, 2024]. Updated guidelines, soon to be published, have removed several characteristics that would have previously merited thyroid disorder screening, namely: maternal age >30 years, multiple prior pregnancies (≥2) and morbid obesity (BMI ≥40kg/m2) [Korevaar TIM, Nov 2024. MedEA Thyroid Disorders Webinar Presentation]. The updated guidelines will also contain revised information on subclinical hypothyroidism and infertility, for both men and women, with emphasis on selective rather than universal  screening and/or treatment [Yeshua, 2025; Anelli, 2024]. This video interview will discuss the background data supporting these updates to enable best practice care for patients.

Learning Objectives

After watching this activity, participants will be able to:

Target Audience

Endocrinologists and other healthcare professionals involved in the diagnosis and management of thyroid disorders.

Language

English with simultaneous translation into Spanish and Chinese

Video Interview
Hypothyroidism in pregnancy: Focus on the patient

Launch 21 April 2026

Faculty

Angela M. Leung

Angela M. Leung

Associate Professor of Medicine
Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes, and Metabolism
Department of Medicine
University of California Los Angeles
David Geffen School of Medicine and the Veterans Affairs Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System
Los Angeles (CA), USA

Save the Date

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· Martin O. Savage ·

Martin Savage is Emeritus Professor of Paediatric Endocrinology at William Harvey Research Institute, Barts and the London School of Medicine & Dentistry, Queen Mary, University of London. He was head of the Paediatric Endocrine Unit at Barts and the London School of Medicine from 1982 to 2007. He has interests in growth disorders, specifically those with abnormalities in the GH-IGF-1 axis and in phenotype-genotype relationships of GH-IGF-1 axis defects, notably GH resistance. He published the first human case of an IGF-1 gene defect in the New England Journal of Medicine in 1996.  His other interests are Cushing’s syndrome and growth in chronic inflammatory diseases. He was General Secretary of the European Society for Paediatric Endocrinology (ESPE) from 1997 to 2004. He has lectured in 60 countries and has published 482 original articles, reviews, textbook chapters and books. In 2007, he was awarded the ESPE Andrea Prader Prize for contributions to paediatric endocrinology and in 2018 he received a Visionary Award from the American Human Growth Foundation. In 2022, he received a Research Excellence Award from the Dr Sulaiman Al Habib Medical Journal in Riyadh, and the British Society of Paediatric Endocrinology & Diabetes James M. Tanner Lifetime Achievement Award. He continues to lecture nationally and internationally.

· Angela M. Leung ·

Angela M. Leung is Associate Professor of Medicine in the Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes, and Metabolism, Department of Medicine, at the University of California Los Angeles David Geffen School of Medicine and the Veterans Affairs Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System. Dr. Leung received her medical degree and completed her internship and internal medicine residency from the Boston University School of Medicine and Boston Medical Center; her clinical and research fellowships from its Section of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Nutrition; and a Master of Science in epidemiology from the Boston University of Public Health. Her research interests are in thyroid disease, iodine status, maternal-fetal thyroid health, and environmental thyroid toxicants, having authored over 140 articles, reviews, book chapters, editorials. She has lectured in national and international conferences, served on the American Thyroid Association board of directors, as editor-in-chief of Clinical Thyroidology, and is past-chair of American Thyroid Association Women in Thyroidology. Dr. Leung serves on the Endocrine Society board of directors and has participated in study section and other committees of the National Institutes of Health, the American Thyroid Association, the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists, and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. She was a member of the task force that developed the first thyroid eye disease consensus statement in joint collaboration between the American Thyroid Association and the European Thyroid Association, served on the writing group for the American Thyroid Association’s 2025 differentiated thyroid cancer guidelines, and is Co-Chair of the American Thyroid Association’s update to its thyroid and pregnancy guidelines anticipated for release in spring 2026.

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