The risk factor profile of children covered by the Polish universal neonatal hearing screening program and its impact
Maciej J Wróbel1, Grażyna Greczka1, Witold Szyfter2
1Department of Otolaryngology and Oncological Laryngology, Poznań University of Medical Sciences, Poland.
Insights
Newborn hearing screening identifies risk factors, but careful selection is key. Hearing loss incidence correlates with the number of risk factors, peaking with six associated factors.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric audiology
- Neonatal screening programs
- Public health
Background:
- High frequency of risk factors in newborns necessitates regular follow-ups, potentially straining healthcare systems.
- Effective neonatal hearing screening requires careful selection and interpretation of risk factors.
Purpose of the Study:
- To analyze the risk factor profile of children in a universal neonatal hearing screening program.
- To correlate identified risk factors with the incidence of hearing loss.
Main Methods:
- Analysis of a 10-year (2002-2012) database from 472 neonatal units.
- Focus on children with at least one identified risk factor.
- Examination of risk factor distribution and correlation with hearing loss.
Main Results:
- A cohort of 137,432 children (4% of screened) had at least one risk factor.
- Single risk factors were most common (71%); 29% had multiple factors (mean 3.1, max 9).
- Hearing loss incidence increased with the number of risk factors, peaking at six.
Conclusions:
- Continued detection of postnatal hearing loss is crucial for understanding incidence and environmental influences.
- Optimizing screening requires specialist discussions on risk factor identification and registration.
Objective:
The high frequency of risk factors detected within the newborn population increases the total number of children that should receive regular follow-ups. However, in some circumstances, this could be beyond the capacity of the health system. Therefore, careful interpretation and selection of risk factors, and in particular of those factors not strictly defined, should be carried out during screening. The aim of the study was to analyse the risk factor profile of children covered by the national universal neonatal hearing screening program and to correlate it with hearing loss incidence.
Patients And Methods:
The analysis of records in the program database collected from 472 neonatal and well-baby units over a period of 10 years (2002-2012), focused on children with at least one risk factor. The analysis was subdivided into distribution of risk factors as well as to risk factors and hearing loss correlation.
Results:
In the studied cohort of n=137,432 children (4% of the total number of screened children) single risk factors were most frequently detected, accounting for 71% of records. The association of two or more risk factors appeared in 659 configurations (29%), with a mean of 3.1 coexisting risk factors and a maximum of 9. Hearing loss was dependent on the number of risk factors in a child, but reached its maximum with the association of 6 factors.
Conclusions:
The detection of postnatal hearing loss should be continued in order to increase our understanding of hearing incidence and the role of environmental factors. To optimize screening, discussions between specialists (mostly related to the issue of risk factors detected and registered in the earliest stage of screening programs) would be beneficial.
