Prevalence of congenital hypothyroidism in Isfahan, Iran: results of a survey on 20,000 neonates.
OBJECTIVE
To evaluate the prevalence of congenital hypothyroidism (CH) in a screening program performed for the first time in Isfahan, Iran.


METHODS
From May 2002 to December 2002, T4 and TSH serum concentrations of 20,000 3- to 7-day-old newborns, born in all 17 hospitals of the city, were measured by radioimmunoassay and immunoradiometric assay, respectively. The newborns with abnormal screening results (TSH >20 mIU/l, T4 <6.5 microg/dl and based on the weight) were re-examined.


RESULTS
Of 531 recalled subjects (recall rate 2.6%), 54 were confirmed to be hypothyroid, showing a prevalence of 1:370 for CH.


CONCLUSIONS
Considering the high frequency of CH, the necessity of implementing a routine screening program in the healthcare system of Isfahan Province is emphasized.
Hashemipour
Mahin
M
Isfahan Endocrine & Metabolism Research Center, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences & Health Services, Isfahan, Iran. emrc@mui.ac.ir
Amini
Massoud
M
Iranpour
Ramin
R
Sadri
Gholam Hossein
GH
Javaheri
Narges
N
Haghighi
Sassan
S
Hovsepian
Silva
S
Javadi
Abbas Ali
AA
Nematbakhsh
Mahdi
M
Sattari
Goshtasb
G
D003409:Congenital Hypothyroidism; D003241:Consanguinity; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007037:Hypothyroidism / Q000453:epidemiology*; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007492:Iran / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D008403:Mass Screening; D015995:Prevalence; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013972:Thyrotropin / Q000097:blood; D013974:Thyroxine / Q000097:blood
D013972:Thyrotropin; D013974:Thyroxine