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.

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.

The new research focused on an enzyme called deiodonase-2 which is involved in processing thyroid hormones within cells.

A mutation in the gene coding for the enzyme had already been associated with other health problems including diabetes and high blood pressure.

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.

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.

Children with lower thyroid hormone levels alone were not at greater risk of low IQ.

The findings were presented at the Society for Endocrinology's British Endocrine Societies (BES) conference in Liverpool.

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Genetic test could show which babies will have low IQ

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