Lead researcher Dr Peter Taylor, from the University of Cardiff's School of Medicine, said: \"If other studies confirm our finding then there may be benefit in carrying out a genetic test for this gene variant in addition to the standard neonatal thyroid screening, which would identify children most at risk of developing low IQ. <\/p>\n
Around 4 per cent of the population have the gene variant coupled with a lower than normal thyroid hormone levels. <\/p>\n
The finding could mean that up to 2.5 million people in Britain could be suffering from the effects of low IQ which might have been treatable. <\/p>\n
The new research focused on an enzyme called deiodonase-2 which is involved in processing thyroid hormones within cells. <\/p>\n
A mutation in the gene coding for the enzyme had already been associated with other health problems including diabetes and high blood pressure. <\/p>\n
In the new study, scientists from the universities of Cardiff and Bristol looked at genetic data on 3,123 children under the age of seven who also had their IQ tested. <\/p>\n
Those with thyroid hormone levels at the bottom of the normal range who also possessed the deiodonase-2 variant were four times more likely to have an IQ under 85. <\/p>\n
Children with lower thyroid hormone levels alone were not at greater risk of low IQ. <\/p>\n
The findings were presented at the Society for Endocrinology's British Endocrine Societies (BES) conference in Liverpool. <\/p>\n
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Genetic test could show which babies will have low IQ<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Lead researcher Dr Peter Taylor, from the University of Cardiff's School of Medicine, said: \"If other studies confirm our finding then there may be benefit in carrying out a genetic test for this gene variant in addition to the standard neonatal thyroid screening, which would identify children most at risk of developing low IQ. Around 4 per cent of the population have the gene variant coupled with a lower than normal thyroid hormone levels Continue reading