Increase in congenital hypothyroidism in New York State and in the United States

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Abstract

Mandated screening of newborns for congenital hypothyroidism (CH) in NYS was initiated in l978. Currently, every newborn screening program in the U.S. includes CH in its panel. Between 1978 and 2005, 7.4 million newborns were screened for CH in NYS. In NYS, between 1978 and 2005, the incidence of CH has increased by 138%. Nationwide (excluding NYS data), with nearly 58 million infants screened between 1987 and 2002, the incidence has increased 73% between 1987 and 2002. These data and possible reasons for the increases are discussed, though no definitive causes are identified.

Section snippets

Materials and methods

NYS data are from the NYS NBS Program from 1978 through 2005. National NBS data from 1987 to 2002 are found in the annual NBS Reports first issued by CORN and now by the NNSGRC. The reports between 1996 and 2002 are found at the NNSGRC web site (genes-r-us.uthscsa.edu/). Earlier reports were distributed by CORN (personal copies of the author). The annual numbers of births for the national reports are from the National Center for Health Statistics [8].

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    The incidence of CH for each demographic is

Results

Table 1 shows the number of newborns screened in NYS, the number of infants diagnosed with CH, and the annual incidence per 100,000 for each year between 1978 and 2005 and the accumulated totals. Table 2 shows the number of states submitting data to the national reports, the number of newborns screened, the number diagnosed and the annual incidence for each year between 1987 and 2002 and the accumulated totals.

Between 1978 and 2005, among 7.4 million NYS infants screened, 3562 have been

Discussion

NYS NBS Program data show that, among races and ethnicities, Asians have a much greater incidence of CH than all other ethnicities. Since 1978, both nationally, and specifically within NYS, the population of Asians has increased more than 200%. However, the number of births is relatively small compared to White, Black, and Hispanic births. They account for only 5% of the births nationally and 6% in NYS. Similarly, the incidence of CH in twin and multiple births is far higher than in singleton

Acknowledgments

Thanks to Christopher Johnson of the NYS NBS Laboratory for providing NYS NBS data. CORN publications and the NNSGRC databases were the source for national data on the numbers of infants screened and the number of children diagnosed with congenital hypothyroidism. Reports can be obtained from the NNSGRC.

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