Neonatal screening for congenital hypothyroidism in East Azerbaijan, Iran: the first report.
OBJECTIVE
To investigate the prevalence of congenital hypothyroidism (CH) among neonates in East Azerbaijan, Iran.


METHODS
A cross-sectional study conducted from 2009 to 2010. Most heel blood samples were taken between three and seven days of birth. Thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) was tested using the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay method. Neonates with abnormal screening results (TSH>20 mIU/L, T4<6.5 mg/dL) were re-examined. Data were analysed using SPSS software.


RESULTS
A total of 62,459 infants were screened. Of 1562 re-called subjects (re-call rate 2.5%), 94 cases with CH were detected, yielding a CH prevalence of 1:666 (female:male ratio 1:1.4).


CONCLUSIONS
The prevalence of CH in East Azerbaijan province is higher in comparison with worldwide levels. These results emphasize the importance of the neonatal screening programme.
Department of Community Medicine, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran. zenalali@gmail.com
Ali Hossein
AH
Zeinalzadeh
Malihe
M
Talebi
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D003409:Congenital Hypothyroidism / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000235:genetics*; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay / Q000379:methods; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007492:Iran; D008297:Male; D008423:Maternal Age; D015997:Neonatal Screening / Q000379:methods*; D015995:Prevalence; D011933:Reagent Kits, Diagnostic; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D013972:Thyrotropin / Q000032:analysis
D011933:Reagent Kits, Diagnostic; D013972:Thyrotropin