title: The statistical analysis of neonatal TSH results from congenital hypothyroidism screening programs provides a useful tool for the characterization of moderate iodine deficiency regions.
abstract: TSH data from the congenital hypothyroidism screening program were analyzed in a mild to moderate iodine deficiency region. Neonatal TSH levels were measured at day 4-5 of life in 22,384 infants (99% coverage; 51.1% males, 48.9% females). The cut off TSH value for recall was established at 20 microUl/ml whole blood. TSH values > 20 microUl/ml were excluded from further analysis of the data. The frequency distribution analysis showed that the median neonatal TSH level was 2 microUl/ml and the mode (28% of newborns) corresponded to neonatal TSH values < 1 microUl/ml. TSH levels above 5 microUl/ml were observed in 14.4% children and the 97% cut off was 11 microUl/ml. When examined in relation to the areas of newborn origin, the individual 97% cut off values varied from 8 to 14 microUl/ml. Accordingly, the frequency of TSH levels above the 97% cut off value calculated for the entire newborn series (> 11 microUl/ml) ranged from 2.1% to 4.6%. A significant correlation was found between the frequency of neonatal TSH levels > 11 microUl/ml and both goiter prevalence (r2 = 0.88; p = 0.0019) and median urinary iodine excretion (r2 = 0.86; p = 0.0077) observed in those areas for which epidemiological data were available (n = 7). The results indicate that neonatal TSH data from the congenital hypothyroidism screening programs can be used for monitoring mild to moderate iodine deficiency regions.
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Medicina Sperimentale e Clinica, Università di Reggio Calabria, Catanzaro, Italy.
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Costante
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Grasso
authors.forename: O
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Ludovico
authors.forename: M F
authors.initials: MF
authors.lastname: Marasco
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Nocera
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Schifino
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Rivalta
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Capula
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Chiarella
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Filetti
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Parlato
mesh_terms: D015415:Biomarkers / Q000097:blood; D003409:Congenital Hypothyroidism; D005260:Female; D006042:Goiter / Q000453:epidemiology*; D006801:Humans; D007037:Hypothyroidism / Q000097:blood / Q000175:diagnosis*; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007455:Iodine / Q000172:deficiency* / Q000652:urine; D007558:Italy / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D008403:Mass Screening; D015995:Prevalence; D011446:Prospective Studies; D013972:Thyrotropin / Q000097:blood*
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; D013972:Thyrotropin; D007455:Iodine