Background: Thyroid hormone is necessary for normal brain growth, myelination, normal neuronal connections and physical growth. The most critical period for the effect of thyroid hormone on brain development is the first few months of life. No data from Cameroon that described the iodine status and thyroid function of the Cameroonian pregnant women and neonates is available. This study determined the newborn Thyroid Stimulating Hormone levels at the Yaounde Gyneco-Obstetric and Paediatric Hospital-Cameroon and demonstrated the association between perinatal factors and newborn TSH levels.

Introduction: The survival of more preterm babies through improved management techniques may imply an increased risk of non-communicable diseases including obesity, diabetes and other cardiovascular risk diseases with age. The prevalence of these diseases varies worldwide. The main objective of this study was to determine the rates and factors associated with overweight and diabetes in children born preterm at the Yaoundé Gyneco-Obstetrics and Pediatrics Hospital. Methodology: We conducted a retrospective cohort study including children aged 6 to 11 years. Data were collected from the records of premature and full-term infants hospitalized from January 1, 2008 to December 31, 2013. Patients were evaluated during outpatient consultation, where height, weight, Body mass index and blood pressure were measured together with fasting capillary blood glucose levels. The Fisher test and the Chi-square test were used to compare proportions. Relative risk (RR) was used to establish the relationship between the different variables. Results: We enrolled 125 children born preterm and 250 born at full-term. The mean age was 8.2 ± 1.6 years. The cumulative incidence of pathologies varied according to type: Overweight 32% in preterm versus 13.6% in full-term (p = 0.00002) and 2.4% with obesity, fasting hyperglycemia 73.20% in preterm versus 48% in full-term (p < 0.001). No cases of diabetes were registered. No factors were significantly associated with the occurrence of these diseases in our series. However, there was a positive correlation between obesity and high blood pressure (r = 1.14, p = 0.000002). Conclusion: Overweight was more common in children born preterm than those born full-term. No cases of diabetes were found but there was a significant incidence of pre-diabetic state.