title: Results and views of women in population-wide pregnancy screening for trisomy 21 in east Finland.
abstract: The serum screening test for trisomy 21 was offered to all pregnant women in East Finland during 1993. The results and the women's views on trisomy screening are reported here. A total of 9,343 (89%) of the pregnant women participated in the screening. A total of 615 women were eligible for amniocentesis or chorionic villus sampling; among them 22 pregnancies were affected by Down Syndrome. Fifteen of them were detected by double screening; in 2 missed cases only maternal-serum alpha-fetoprotein had been determined. In all 5 cases missed by double screening the maternal age was less than 30 years. The women's attitudes were studied by means of a questionnaire, which was mailed to 214 women. The response rate to our questionnaire was 74%. A total of 87% of respondents highly or very highly valued the opportunity to participate in the screening. Despite the existing problems caused by late testing, 87% of respondents want to be tested again in their future pregnancies.
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, University Hospital of Kuopio, Finland.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Heikkilä
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ryynänen
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Kirkinen
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Saarikoski
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000649:Amniocentesis; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000097:blood; D006063:Chorionic Gonadotropin / Q000097:blood; D015193:Chorionic Villi Sampling; D004314:Down Syndrome / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D005260:Female; D005387:Finland / Q000453:epidemiology; D006801:Humans; D008403:Mass Screening / Q000523:psychology; D017060:Patient Satisfaction; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D011247:Pregnancy; D011262:Pregnancy Trimester, Second; D037841:Pregnant People; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D000509:alpha-Fetoproteins / Q000032:analysis
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; D006063:Chorionic Gonadotropin; D000509:alpha-Fetoproteins