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Thyroid screening in the newborn: Utah experience
Insights
Newborn screening in Utah identified 1 hypothyroid child per 3,800 births since 1979. Less than 1% of infants were falsely flagged, ensuring accurate diagnosis of congenital hypothyroidism.
Area of Science:
- Pediatrics
- Endocrinology
- Public Health
Background:
- Congenital hypothyroidism (CH) is a treatable condition requiring early diagnosis.
- Newborn screening programs are crucial for identifying CH in infants.
- The Utah State Department of Health Laboratory has a long-standing newborn screening program.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review the incidence and screening accuracy of congenital hypothyroidism in Utah newborns.
- To evaluate the effectiveness of the established newborn screening protocol.
Main Methods:
- Analysis of screening data for 108,256 newborn infants from 1979 onwards.
- Application of a defined normal range for serum thyroid hormone levels (8.0–26.0 µg/dL).
- Calculation of incidence rates for diagnosed CH and false-positive results.
Main Results:
- An incidence of 1 diagnosed hypothyroid case per 3,800 live births was observed.
- Fewer than 1% of screened infants were initially identified as hypothyroid but later confirmed normal.
- The screening protocol demonstrated high specificity.
Conclusions:
- The Utah newborn screening program effectively identifies congenital hypothyroidism.
- The established screening parameters minimize false positives, ensuring efficient resource allocation.
- Long-term newborn screening data supports the reliability of CH detection.
Abstract:
Since 1979, the State Department of Health Laboratory of Utah has screened 108,256 newborn infants for hypothyroidism. The incidence of diagnosed hypothyroid children during this period was 1 per 3,800 live births. Utilizing a normal range of serum thyroid hormone levels in newborn infants of 8.0 to 26.0 micrograms per dl, the incidence of normal infants initially considered hypothyroid was less than one percent. A review of our three years experience is presented.