New research suggests, the potentially dangerous condition pre-eclampsia in pregnant women, means they may be more likely to suffer from thyroid problems, such as an under-active thyroid, leading to fatigue and depression.

The study which was conducted by an team comprising of American and Norwegian scientists has been published in the British Medical Journal and reports, pregnant women with the condition i. e. pre-eclampsia should get their thyroid checked, including the standard heart and kidney check.

The thyroid gland is important for controlling the rate at which the body burns energy, including makes hormones for regulating heart rate, blood pressure and body temperatures.

If, the thyroid gland is found to be under-active it leads to hypo-thyroidism, which produces symptoms like fatigue, weakness and depression, including raising the risk of cardiovascular disease.

To explain what pre-eclampsia is, it is a condition linked to abnormally high blood pressure and if left untreated, not only endangers the lives of both mother and baby, but also causes convulsions, including damaging the heart and kidneys.

Each year 1,000 babies die in UK due to the condition. It remains unclear as to what causes pre-eclampsia, but it has been linked to raised protein levels in the mother's blood during the second half of pregnancy, which acts to limit blood supply to the thyroid tissue.