Related Experiment Video
Updated: Mar 5, 2026
Phenotypic Analysis of Rodent Malaria Parasite Asexual and Sexual Blood Stages and Mosquito Stages
Published on: May 30, 2019
Possible effects of neonatal vitamin B12 status on TSH-screening program: a cross-sectional study from Turkey
Zerrin Onal1, Seda Balkaya1, Atilla Ersen2
1Department of Pediatrics, Kanuni Sultan Suleyman Training and Research Hospital, Istanbul.
Insights
Vitamin B12 deficiency is linked to higher recall rates in neonatal screening for congenital hypothyroidism. This deficiency impacts thyroid-stimulating hormone levels, potentially leading to unnecessary re-examinations.
Area of Science:
- Neonatal Health
- Endocrinology
- Nutritional Science
Background:
- Congenital hypothyroidism (CH) screening is vital for early intervention.
- Vitamin B12 plays a critical role in newborn development.
- The impact of vitamin B12 deficiency on neonatal screening (NS) for CH is not well-understood.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the association between vitamin B12 deficiency and neonatal screening results for congenital hypothyroidism.
- To determine if vitamin B12 deficiency influences recall rates in CH screening programs.
Main Methods:
- A cross-sectional study involving 10,740 infants born between 2010-2011.
- Comparison of 229 infants with abnormal TSH screening results against 77 randomly selected controls.
- Analysis of serum TSH, free T4, vitamin B12, and homocysteine levels in both groups.
Main Results:
- Significantly lower mean serum vitamin B12 levels were observed in infants with positive TSH screening results compared to controls.
- Infants with positive TSH screening showed altered levels of TSH, free T4, and homocysteine.
- 11 infants were diagnosed with CH and 21 with transient TSH elevation in the recalled group.
Conclusions:
- Vitamin B12 deficiency is prevalent in infants with positive TSH screening results.
- Vitamin B12 deficiency may contribute to increased recall rates in neonatal screening for congenital hypothyroidism.
- Ensuring adequate vitamin B12 levels in newborns is important for accurate CH screening.
Background:
In this study we evaluated whether vitamin B12 deficiency affects neonatal screening (NS) for congenital hypothyroidism (CH).
Methods:
A cross-sectional study conducted from 2010 to 2011. A total of 10,740 infants were born in our hospital in this period. Thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) was tested for NS and neonates with abnormal screening results (TSH>20 mIU/L) were re-examined. Two hundred and twenty-nine re-called subjects (re-call rate 2.3%) were compared to 77 randomly selected newborns with normal TSH screening among these term newborns in terms of serum TSH, free T4, vitamin B12 and homocysteine status.
Results:
Of the 229 re-called subjects, 11 infants with CH and 21 infants with transient TSH elevation were detected. In the normal TSH screening group, only two infants were diagnosed with transient TSH elevation. Mean serum B12 levels were 126.4±48.7 pg/mL and 211.9±127.9 pg/mL in the positive TSH-screening group and the control group, respectively. There was a significant difference between positive and normal TSH-screening groups in regard to serum TSH, free T4, serum B12 and homocysteine levels.
Conclusions:
We found a significant vitamin B12 deficiency in positive TSH-screening infants. Beside the crucial role of vitamin B12 in newborns, deficiency seems to increase the recall rates of infants in an NS program for CH.